


LOVE ASSIGNMENT | DAHMO

by kimwig



Category: TWICE (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-15
Updated: 2019-10-31
Packaged: 2020-12-16 02:55:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 25
Words: 23,126
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21029093
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kimwig/pseuds/kimwig
Summary: "If love was an assignment I would've failed."Dating sounds easy, right? Well, not so much for a group of students who decide to join a dating class arragned by their Algebra Professor.Will they be able to complete their assignments and finally find the right one, the one that will make dating easier for them?Inspired by the Korean Web Drama 'Dating Class' by tvN D Story.originally published @ Wattpad





	1. ROOMATE

Dressed in a baggy shirt and baggy pants, Dahyun barged into the dorm with the biggest smile on her face.

"What is it again?" the voice of her roomate, Jihyo sounded. 

Park Jihyo was usually quiet, liked to stay inside, and read good books over a warm cup of coffee. She stated that socializing was a lot of work and very stressing and that she would only do it if completely necessary.

"I just came back from school and—" Dahyun started, eyeing the girl "Wait! Where's Chae?"

Ah, yes! Chaeyoung. Son Chaeyoung, the free spirited and very social bean. She has been friends with the two girls since they were in diapers.

"Did someone call my name?" the said girl asked, walking into the room with a paintbrush between her lips and a white, stained and probably four sizes bigger, t-shirt.

"What are you doing?" Jihyo facepalmed, calmly sipping from her cup.

"I'm arting" Chaeyoung proudly said, wipping her hands on her shirt before ruffling her short, blonde hair.

"Huh?"

"Art-ing..I'm arting."

"Yeah, okay." the older sighed, giving up on communicating with the girl.

"Can I talk now, please?" Dahyun asked. Excitment was the word that defined her and most of the times her overly energetic behaviour annoyed all of her friends.

"Please," Jihyo whined "I have stuff to—"

"Hush! So, you know how much of a hard working student I am—" the girl started and both her friends laughed loudly "Hey, stop! I was saying that my Algebra professor is conducting a very intresting and helpful class." she continued, wiggling her eyebrows.

"No way!" Chaeyoung shouted "He's a fucking perv."

"Come on Chae~" Dahyun sang out "He's not a perv, just..lonely."

"He is actually really kind," Jihyo spoke up "He has helped me a lot with that paper I had to complete a while ago." she smiled and let her cup on the table.

"What's the class, then? If it's a yoga class I'm not coming." the younger asked, remembering the time Dahyun had dragged them to a yoga class filled with elderly people and a very creepy instructor.

"Chae, we're in college," Jihyo sighed "There's no such thing as a yoga class."

"She's right." Dahyun smirked "It's something more useful. Something all three of us need!"

"Will you tell us?" the blonde whined, grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge.

"No, I won't," Dahyun laughed "Just be in this class tommorow after your own finishes." she grinned, giving the two a piece of paper and later running to her room and jumping on her bed.

"This can't be good." Jihyo breathed out and looked at Chaeyoung.

They knew their friend. She always came up with the weirdest and most irritating ideas, that always ended up badly.


	2. ICED TEA

Twenty-four hours later, Jihyo and Chaeyoung had already entered the classrom. It was suprisingly full and everyone awaited for the professor, yet Dahyun was nowhere to be seen and both of her friends were getting really annoyed. Per usual.

"Where is she?" Chaeyoung whispered, tapping her fingers on the desk "I swear if she doesn't show up. This class is already fucking useless!"

"Language, Chae!" Jihyo scolded, eyeing all of the students inside the classroom. There were a lot of girls, she noticed "A dating class doesn't sound that bad." she lied. 

It was completely unnecessary, but she had to come just for Dahyun. She knew how whiny the younger could get and she didn't want it, not during the most important semester of her life.

"What?!" the blonde almost screamed "You're nuts, right? How could professor Ahn get permission to do this class? Like, do you know any college doing accepting such nonsense?" she asked and got up to leave before Jihyo grabbed her arm.

"Do it for Dahyun," the older simply said "She will be thrilled to know we're here".

"You know, we don't always have to like everything she does because of—"

"Good morning, class." professor Ahn said, walking in the room with his casual and very scary serious expression. He always wore that, the serious and scary expression. No one had ever seen him smile and he had been teaching for quite a while.

Meanwhile, Dahyun was rushing out of her last class. She was exetremely late, something not so usual for her. The girl quickly packed her stuff and ran down the stairs, eager not to miss the first class and her friends' reaction to it.

Dahyun had picked a dating class to attend. Apart from the fact that it gave extra credit to all students, no matter their major, she really wanted to see what her Algebra professor was like outside their strict and very hard classes. 

The man had metioned that conducting this class wasn't his choice and only a part of an experiment, but Dahyun didn't mind. She was aware that the man, when younger, was the hot topic, had women running before him, and men hating him. The girl assumed he knew a lot about dating and since she had never been in a relationship, she thought she could use his advice.

As she hurried over to her class, she dropped the bottle she was holding, making it roll against the floor and near someone's feet who so happened to be waiting outside of the door. Without wanting to disturb the person standing, Dahyun snuck her way behind them and kneeled to pick up her drink without realizing the person was taking steps back.

"Ah shit—" the voice of a woman echoed in the empty halls as she tripped over Dahyun and fell to the floor, clutching her books and phone tightly.

"I-I'm sorry." Dahyun immediatly jumped up and offered her hand to the woman, who glared at her.

Both women looked at each other for a while before one of them spoke up. 

"It's cool." the brunette said and grabbed Dahyun's arm, getting up. "What's in that?" she asked as she pointed at the bottle in the girl's hand.

"Peach iced tea.." the girl replied, analyzing the woman's face.

Dahyun found the girl very pretty. It seemed like she wasn't from the country. She had big and bright eyes, with long eyelashes and a perfectly shaped nose. Her lips were the perfect amount of plump and her slightly flushed cheeks made her look like a character out of an anime. Or maybe like God's best creation. The creation He spent all of His time and effort on, skillfully sculpting it's every feature until there were no flaws.

"Ah, I see," she laughed "My name is peach." 

"Huh?"

"My name is Momo," the girl laughed again "It means peach in Japanese."

"Oh," Dahyun replied, desperately trying not to focus on the girl's smile "I'm Dahyun."

"Nice to meet you, Dahyun-ssi." 


	3. OOPS

Momo walked past Dahyun and continued peeking through the door, just like she did before tripping over the girl.

"So, you're in this class too?" Dahyun asked.

"Yeah. It gives extra credit and seems really intresting, although our buddies over there don't really look happy about it." Momo replied, pointing over at Jihyo and Chaeyoung.

"Oops.."

"What?"

"Those are my best friends," Dahyun laughed "They're probably mad because I'm late."

Momo didn't reply to that and only tapped her fingers against the glass on the door, following with her eyes the movement of a very certain someone.

"Should we get in?" the brunette asked, grabbing the handle and pushing open the door.

Sneakily entering the classroom, the girls parted ways. Dahyun joined her friends, who scolded her as soon as they saw her while Momo took a seat next to some girl, who looked really uncomfortable around her.

"I don't know a lot about love or dating," the professor spoke "You see, love is something that cannot be calculated, there is no formula to it." he said and eyed the whole class.

Dating is hard. Especially today, where being fake and not caring is the new trend, the new 'normal'.

"In this class, we'll simply complete assignments to get the hang of dating. No one will be forced to date anyone, just get to know their weekly partner," mister Ahn spoke "Today you will get to pick your first partner and will have to complete a task before changing another one in the class the week after. For all projects you will randomly pick your partner by selecting a piece of paper with your classmate's name on it from here—" he said, pointing at a big bowl in front of his desk "Introduce yourself, pick your partner..and that's all!"

The students glanced at each other, waiting for the first one to get up and introduce themsevles. When no one did, one of the girls in the back of the class stood up and walked near the desk. She sported all colorfurl atire and had a big smile on her face.

"Hello! My name is Minatozaki Sana and I'm an excange student from Japan. My major is Philosphy." the girl smiled and bowed "Nice to meet you!"

"Alright, Sana. You can pick your partner now."

Sana dove her hand in the bowl and picked out a small piece of papper, squinting her eyes so she can read it. "Park Jihyo?" she called out and the class gasped.

"It's okay guys, it's just for the assignment" the professor spoke "Girls might get assigned to girls. You're the majority of the students either way."

"I don't mind, sir." Sana spoke and came closer to our desk when spotting Jihyo, who held her hand raised.

Next to go was Chaeyoung, who had openly came out as a lesbian in her first year of college. Even if she firstly picked a guy to work with, she threw the paper back in the bowl and got another one.

"I'm Son Chaeyoung, majoring in Art or whatever," she shrugged "My partner is Myoui Mina." the girl said and walked to the quiet female sitting beside Momo.

After a few more students, the next to go was Momo. The girl casually walked in front of the whole class and cleread her throat before speaking.

"My name is Hirai Momo, I'm majoring in dance." she spoke.

"Who's your partner, Momo?" professor Ahn asked.

"Kim Dahyun."


	4. LESBIAN CLASS

"What is this?" a guy shouted from the back of the classroom "A lesbian class?"

The classroom was frozen in place and fell quiet while looking professor Ahn glare the guy who had shouted. The only movement being made was the professor's slow steps and the only sound being heard was the one of the intimidating man's shoes that hit against the classroom floor.

"In this class," mister Ahn started, fixing the knot of his tie "We do not discriminate." he hissed as he made his way closer to the young student.

In the meantime, Momo had already sat beside Dahyun on the desk. The latter was sitting alone as her friends had already sat next to their partners. 

"I will not allow anyone talk in such way for other students," professor Ahn continued as his tall body hovered above the student's desk "If you are not fond of the way this class works, I would kindly suggest you quiting." the man spoke as his eyes pierced holes through the student's head that was ducked down the whole time.

"I-I'm sorry." the boy apologized.

"I will not tolerate disrespectful beaviour, not from you, not from anyone!" the intimidating man spoke "This will definitely be reported to the principal and there will be consiquences. Your ignorance and judgmental attitude isn't always harmless, mister Lee."

The boy still couldn't look the professor in the eyes as his friends beside him tried to hold in their laughter. For some reason, their friend getting in trouble seemed really funny and Momo found it too, as she quietly snorted. And she wasn't wrong for doing so, the guy was a jerk and he completely deserved the scolding he got. Or maybe even more, the older thought.

"Understood?" mister Ahn aksed, backing away from the desk.

"Understood." Lee Myungsoo nodded while wiping the sweat trickling down his forehead with the back of his hand.

"Now that everyone has their assigned partners, I can finally inform you about your first ever project," the professor cleared his throat "It's a simple get-to-know each other project, a phone call. You have not to make it awkward for your partner and also enjoyable." he said and the whole class started mumbling.

Everyone was exchanging phone numbers while Momo and Dahyun stood still, looking away from each other.

"Please note that you will be rated by your partner," he continued "Their ratings will be a part of your final grade." he lastly said before he dismissed the class and walked away.

Dahyun awkwardly sat up, trying to find the courage to ask for the girl's number. The latter seemed to be always looking at Mina's direction and Dahyun didn't want to disturb her, she thought they might had some history.

"Hey, Dahyun-ssi." Momo called out, leaning against the wall as she watched Dahyun freeze just a few meters away from it.

"Huh?"

"You're spacing out," the girl laughed "I need your number..for the project?"

"Ah yeah!" Dahyun nodded and took out her phone "Are you available for the call tonight?"

"Mhm," Momo smiled and typed in her phone number "Call me whenever." she smirked and walked out the classroom, leaving Dahyun staring at the wall and melting over the girl's smile.


	5. FRIENDLY

"I can't do this." Dahyun groaned as her fingers hovered above her phone's screen.

"It's just an assignment, get over it!" Chaeyoung replied before focusing back on her own phone.

The younger had already started her assignment with her partner, Mina. The girls seemed to be talking for too long, but neither of them complained.

"Where's Jihyo?" Dahyun asked, avoiding calling Momo once again.

"Talking to Sana." the girl laid next to her replied, "Just do it, Gosh!"

"What if I disturb her, Chae?' Dahyun spoke, looking at the number of Momo's on her screen's phone.

The girl felt intimidated by Momo. She was too pretty to be talking to Dahyun. No pretty girl had ever talked to her or even approached her. Apart from her friends, of course. She was anxious, simply because Momo seemed like the type to be really busy in life. Dancing, partying, or messing around. That's what Dahyun thought the older did most of her time. She was the talk of the campus, a playgirl.

"Here," Chaeyoung sighed and leaned over, pressing on Momo's contact "You can do the assignmet now and leave me alone."

"Wait, Chaeyoung!" Dahyun almost screamed "What are you doing? I swear I will ki—"

_"Woah!"_ Momo's voice sounded_ "Do you hate me that much already?"_

"H-Huh?"

_"Don't kill me,"_ Momo said and turned on her camera, smilling brightly _"I'm friendly!"_

"O-Oh, I was talking to my friend, not you." Dahyun replied, suddenly feeling very hot "S-Sorry."

_"Don't be,"_ the girl smirked _"Now let's get started, yeah?"_


	6. PLAYGIRL

"So, you're an only child?" Dahyun asked, as she walked out of the dorms. Even if it was late, she felt like walking.

_"My parents are divorced,"_ she replied _"I hardly remember my father's face. So yup, I'm an only child."_

Surprisingly the talk with Momo had been going smoothly and the girls seemed to get along.

"O-Oh!" Dahyun panicked. She didn't want to upset the older "I'm sorry, I d-didn't know—"

_"It's fine,"_ Momo smiled _"What about you?"_

"I have a brother," the girl breathed out "He, as well as the rest of my family, are back in Seongnam."

"_Really?"_ Momo asked, brushing some hair away from her face _"That must be hard, not seeing them."_

The light illuminating from her room's lights made Momo seem like an angel. An angel that lost it's way to heaven and had to settle in the real word while tying not to stand out, or else her cover would be blown. She failed though, she stood out too much that Dahyun knew she was an angel and thought that she could never take her eyes off of her.

"It is, sometimes.." the younger said, looking around. It was quiet tonight. "But, I'm an adult now. I have to face all my problems by myself. You know?"

_"Yeah,"_ Momo laughed _"Yeah, I do."_

They fell quiet for a while. Dahyun enjoying the slightly chilly air and Momo her company. Because it may seem that Momo was the one who liked to party all night long, drink until she forgot her own name, or sleep around because she simply could, but she really appreciated people who tried to get to know her. Everyone stayed around because she was known, because of the playgirl image she had on. While in reality, she was a softie and waited for the right person to show that side of her.

"Can I ask a random question?" Dahyun suddenly spoke up.

_"I think speaking to you three hours have already given you the right to ask whatever question you want whenever you want, Dahyun."_ Momo said, looking at the younger's eyes through the screen.

"Have you ever been in a relationship?" the girl asked, looking everywhere but her phone.

_"I have, yes."_

"Did you, uhm.."

_"Fall in love?"_

"Yeah, that."

_"I did," _Momo chuckled _"I fell for her pretty hard."_

Dahyun chocked, coughing profusely. She didn't know campus' biggest playgirl was attracted to girls.

"H-Her?"


	7. SELFISH

"H-Her?" Dahyun asked, sitting down on the first bench she saw.

Momo sighed and brought her bottom lip in between her teeth, biting it lightly.

_"Am I scaring you away?"_ she laughed "_Sorry."_

"N-No, it's not that!" Dahyun said, finally looking at Momo's face on the screen "I just assumed that—"

_"Since I'm a playgirl,"_ she air quoted _"I would be into guys. Because I sleep around and all, right?"_

"I—"

_"No, it's okay,__"_ Momo said _"Don't worry about it. I'll just hang up now, goodnight." _

Dahyun exhaled in frustration and tapped her feet anxiously on the ground. She didn't want to end the call with Momo, not when the latter felt like she was being judged.

"Wait!" the younger shouted, blushing when Momo smiled "I'm into girls too—" she blurted out.

Dahyun panicked, she had never admitted anything like this to anyone, not even her best friends. And now Momo, a girl she knew less than twenty four hours was well aware of her secret. A secret she had never admitted again after _that_ _day_.

_"Taking a step out of the closet, I see,"_ Momo chuckled _"Cute."_

And suddenly, the embarrassment Dahyun was going through was worth it.

"Please, don't look at me like that."

_"Like what?"_

"Like you're judging me." Dahyun whined, sighing in defeat.

_"I'm not judging you,"_ Momo shrugged _"Just waiting for you to stop blushing."_

"Yah!"

"_Okay, okay, calm down,"_ the older laughed _"I'm just kidding."_

"This time I feel like hanging up." Dahyun murmered.

_"Please don't,"_ Momo said _"I enjoy talking to you."_

"You do?"

_"Of course."_

"So.."

_"Are you going to ask about her again?"_ Momo sighed and ran her fingers through her hair.

"Can I?" Dahyun smiled, wanting to lure Momo into opening up.

The older melted a bit when looking at the girl's bright smile. She didn't expect this call to turn out this way. She would usually want to get over with her assignments as fast as possible, but with Dahyun she had fun. She didn't want the call to end, not now, now that she had gained a friend. A true friend.

_"It's Mina. Myoui Mina," _Momo breathed out _"The girl I fell in love with."_


	8. REAL

"Chaeyoung's partner?" the younger asked, gulping.

_"Yup, the one and only miss Myoui."_ Momo bitterly laughed, looking away for the first time.

"Do you maybe," Dahyun sighed "Want to talk about it?"

_"I don't think there's something to talk about,"_ the brunette said_ "She just left me. Just like that, out of the blue, without even breaking up with me. And I know it sounds selfish, but sometimes I just want her all to myself. Because I really thought we could last, that we loved each other. But I guess I didn't mean as much to her as I thought I did." _

There was a sudden tension between the girls. On the one had there was Momo, clearly upset with her relationship. While on the other, was Dahyun. She didn't know what to say, she couldn't provide comforting words to the older. The girl didn't know how to, but she really wanted.

She closed her eyes and moved her free hand on her face, tapping on her chin. She had to find the perfect words, the words that would make Momo smile. Because even if it's only been a few minutes, Dahyun already missed the older's smile.

However, the words she wanted so much to come out, didn't. Instead, she just blurted out first thing she thought of.

"She doesn't deserve you, then."

Momo laughed_ "Really? Did you think hard to say this?" _she raised a brow.

"No, I didn't," Dahyun stated "I tried hard thinking of something that would comfort you, that would make you get her out of your mind. But I couldn't find it. Maybe because I've never dated before, or never had been through a heartbreak. However, I don't want to and all I know is that she didn't deserve you. Hell, no one does.."

_"Mhm"_ Momo hummed _"How are you absolutely sure no one deserves me?"_ she whispered, another smirk replacing the frown she had earlier.

"You're real," Dahyun breathed out "You express how you feel, try and get what you want even if sometimes you might seem greedy. You don't pretend to be someone you're not, although you know some things you do don't have a good effect on others. "

_"Real?" _

"Yes," the younger smiled "There aren't many people like that anymore."

_"You like someone who's real?"_ Momo asked as she watched Dahyun's features disappear in the dark.

"I do, yes," she replied "I can learn a lot from people like you."

"_Then why don't you learn?"_ the older breathed.

"I'm sorry, unnie?" Dahyun asked.

"_Learn from me. Drop the honorifics and let's hang out outside of class." _


	9. THIS ISN'T A PART OF THE ASSIGNMENT

"Come on, Sana-ssi." Jihyo groaned, as the taller girl dragged her to the campus' cafeteria in the early morning just a few days after their first phone call.

"I think I told you to refer to me informally," Sana pouted "Besides, you need to get out of your dorm." she smiled and pushed open the door.

The cafeteria was empty, only a couple of studens who had pulled all nighters and visited to grab a cup of coffee to survive the rest of the day were sitting there.

"This isn't a part of the assignment." Jihyo mumbled and took a seat when the girl urged her to.

After their first phone call, Sana took an instant liking on the shorter. She didn't think of it as a romantic interest, just a person she'd like to get to know better. 

"I wanted to take you away from you books, miss clever." Sana smiled after she returned with two cups of tea and two donuts in her hands.

"Reading is what I love, Sana," Jihyo replied, looking puzzled when Sana handed her the cup "Wait, how do you know I like tea better than coffee?"

"I payed attetion to you," Sana shrugged, smirking "I'm a good listener."

"Or you just asked my friends," the girl across of her furrowed her eyebrows "Did you?"

"Aw come on!" Sana whined "How would you even know?"

"I'm clever, you said it yourself," Jihyo laughed "Also, I never talk about it. Whenever I do, people think I'm an old lady." she faceplamed, glancing at Sana's direction.

"Coffee is bad." 

"Don't change the subject."

"You're falsely accusing me of something and I don't exactly know what it is." Sana glanced back, happily taking a bite off her donut.

"I'm not accusing," the girl shrugged "I was just curious on why would you even ask my friends what I like."

Sana grinned, setting her donut down next to her untouched cup of tea. She took a deep breath in and relaxed in her very uncomfortable chair.

"Because I wanted to make you smile in this very annoyingly busy and tiring Friday morning." she admited "And also, wanted to get to know more about you."

"So you had to ask my friends?"

"I'm just being a nice person." Sana said, bringing her hands up in surrender.

"And?" Jihyo held in a giggle when Sana's powder stained face fell.

"Okay," the blonde sighed "I wanted to make a good impression, alright? Why you gotta be so smart?"

"Ah," Jihyo hummed "That's better."

"Making a fool of myself?"

"Nope," the girl spoke "Just being truthful and a gentlewoman, just what I like."

Sana's face lit up and the biggest smile was visible on her face as she hapilly shook her body around, trying somehow to show how happy she was without screaming. It was too really early in the morning anyway.

"What are you doing?" Jihyo asked in between giggles.

"Happy dancing," Sana said, wiggling her eyebrows "AGH—" 

The blonde squealed as she knocked her cup off the table and on her lap, the hot tea burning her legs and lower stomach.

"Oh my Gosh!" Jihyo laughed more as she ran to help clean Sana up.

The shorter kneeled just before her and grabbed a few tissues that Sana had brought before sitting down earlier, and tried drying her pants while Sana whined in pain.

"I think you need to get out of these." Jihyo said, pointing at Sana's pants.

"W-What?" Sana said, weirdly blushing at Jihyo's comment.

The blonde was always confident and made sure to make her dates flustered with flirting at the most random times, but today, Sana was the one getting flustered and it strangely felt amazing. 

"Your pants, silly," Jihyo groaned "You'll get a serious burn if you keep them on."

"I can't just take them out here, Jihyo!" Sana scolded, earning a sigh from the girl next to her.

"I meant that you need to go back to your dorm and change."

"But I live too far away from here," she pouted "And I don't want to leave. Let's just stay here."

"Nope, get up!" Jihyo almost shouted "Let's walk back to your dorm together. I'll tag along."

"Really?" Sana asked, showing her best smile to Jihyo.

The girl didn't believe Jihyo would care so much. She thought the shorter was mad at her from dragging her out of the dorm at seven in the morning when she had repeatedly said she wanted to read.

"Yes, I don't want you to get hurt," Jihyo said, grabbing Sana's arm "Now, let's go!"


	10. DORM

"Ah," Sana breathed out "We're finally here." she said, putting in the password for the dorm door to open.

Sana lived almost outside of campus, where there weren't many other people. Usually, the more quiet students would pick that side of the campus as it took a while to walk from there to the other side, where the cafeteria, bathrooms and classes were. Meaning it was very quiet, no parties or annoyingly loud students needing coffee ever bothered them. Jihyo had questioned Sana about her choice to live there as she found it bizarre, the girl was very social. Sana said it didn't matter where she lived, she could always make friends wherever she was.

"It's really beautiful," Jihyo said as she took her shoes off "Who decorated it?"

"I did," Sana chimed while handing a pair of slides to Jihyo "You like it?"

"Mhm." the girl hummed and looked around as Sana quickly ran to change clothes.

"I hope you don't mind if I take a quick shower while I'm at i," Sana announced and peeked her head from the bathroom door. "Also, I'm keeping this scarf you gave me untilㅣwash it. It's stained with tea."

It was the first time Jihyo had seen her without her hair tied. Sana usually preferred wearing it in a ponytail, or a messy bun because 'They look ugly from all the bleaching and will only let them down when I get treatment'. But Jihyo thought they looked just fine, the worn off blonde color on her hair seemed pretty.

"No, it okay take your time," Jihyo smiled "And keep the scarf, it's all yours now." she said, eyeing the scarf that laid on the table. Jihyo had given it to her so she could cover up her stained pants and shirt as they walked back to her dorm a few minutes ago.

The girl shut the door, encouraging Jihyo to take a better look at the quite big dorm of Sana's. And honestly, Jihyo reckoned it was too big for one person, especially Sana, who was out most of time during the day..and night.

Jihyo walked around, examining the big bookshelf that was placed just next to a small couch. The girl smiled, did Sana read books? From what it seemed she didn't really like reading, although her major was philosophy.

"My parents forced me to take it," Sana had said once, awkwardly chuckling "They made me move from Japan here and study."

Jihyo felt slightly bad for the girl. She had moved to a foreign country, barely knowing the language while forced to major in something she didn't quite enjoy. Sighing, she grazed her fingers over the books on the bookshelf grimancing at their titles.

Most of them, were medical stuff and Jihyo had a weird fear of everything that had to do with hospitals, especially blood. It occurred to her though, how could Sana not like studying but still read medical books. The girl was absolutely random and confusing, Jihyo mumbled internally while letting the books go and resting on the couch.

"Hey, Sana?" a voice sounded and a tall figured pushed open the door of the dorm "Today I had lab so early I could barely form a sentence and this freaking professor—"

Jihyo shot up from her seat, her eyes opened wide as a small gasp left her lips.

"Hey."

"Hi?" the girl said, leaving her shoes close to the door "Who are you?"

"Park Jihyo," Jihyo said and bowed "A friend of Sana's."

"I see," the girl said "Well I'm—"

"Tzuyu-ah!" Sana squealed, getting out of the bathroom and running to hug the taller.

"Hello." the tall girl laughed and Jihyo frowned. She looked so pretty and seemed younger too. Her attire matched to the few books she was holding, medical books. She looked like someone who was very smart, Jihyo thought and the white coat she wore proved she was actually the owner of all the books on the bookshelf.

"How was your day, baby Tzu?" Sana asked, trying to pinch the girl's cheek only to be pushed away. "I saw you met my friend Jihyo too."

"Yeah, I did," the girl who apparently was named Tzuyu spoke and ran her fingers through her hair "But I didn't get to introduce myself. You literally just sprinted from the bathroom and almost killed me." she whined.

Jihyo just stood and watched the two as casually talked, Sana in just a towel and Tzuyu in her very fancy looking lab coat. She didn't really know what to believe of their relationship and felt stupid when she quietly scoffed every time they hugged. She didn't want to feel jealous, it's not like she was interested in Sana. Jihyo was straight, for the love of God, why be jealous.

"I'm Tzuyu, by the way," the girl smiled "Chou Tzuyu."

"Nice to meet you," Jihyo said while forcing a smile "I-I have to go now."


	11. HEY CHAE

"Your dorm is nice." Mina lowly said as she laid on Chaeyoung's bed, facing the ceiling.

"Thanks," the girl next to her replied equally quiet as the older "Jihyo unnie appreciates nice décor."

"You too, I see." Mina replied, pointing with her left arm around Chaeyoung's room.

"It's cool," Chaeyoung shrugged "I guess."

It was weird, how things had developed between Mina and Chaeyoung. They had this weird bond over silence and for a week now had been meeting in Chaeyoung's dorm doing absolutely nothing but small talk.

"Unnie," Chaeyoung spoke "Wanna do something?"

"No, I'm fine here." the girl replied as she held onto Chaeyoung's hand.

"Yeah," Chaeyoung sighed "Me neither. It's rarely so quiet here."

"Mhm.." Mina mumbled, gaze traveling on every single painting hang up in Chaeyoung's walls.

None of them realized how they got into bed hand in hand, but none of them cared either. It was their way of enjoying the quiet hours in the very loud campus when both of them felt like socializing was too much for them.

"Hey, Chae?"

"Yeah?"

"All these drawing are yours, right?" Mina asked, turning to look at Chaeyoung.

"All mine," the girl replied, not turning to look at Mina "Why?"

"I like them," she shrugged and forced herself to look away from the younger's side profile. "And even thought picking up drawing as a hobby after I've seen your works."

"That's nice," Chaeyoung smiled "Maybe I can teach you the basics some day."

On their first call for the assignment, the girls realized how much they had in common; they both liked art, were not so good at socializing, but easy going, and had a weird relationship with their parents. However, both of them never talked about it.

"Woah," Chaeyoung breathed out when looking at her phone "It's already twelve."

"When are the others coming?" Mina asked, groaning when her phone vibrated against her legs and scared her.

"I think Ji will be here in a while," the younger mumbled "The library closes in a while. As for Dahyun, I don't know. She's out."

"Oh really?"

"Uh huh," Chaeyoung hummed "She's been going out almost every day with that Momo girl from class."

"Ah." Mina gulped and slightly flinched.

"You know her?"

"No, not really," Mina shrugged "We just share some classes."

"Is she a good person?" Chaeyoung suddenly asked "I mean, I've been hearing around that she's just playing with everyone's feelings since the end of high school and I don't want Dahyun to get hurt again, yknow? She seems to be getting really close with her."

Chaeyoung's words echoed inside Mina's head, who couldn't think of something to say. There wasn't anything she could say to ease Chaeyoung's mind since everything she thought of was true. Momo was a play girl, but it wasn't certainly her fault. Getting your heart broken over a reason you don't know and so suddenly can change you, make you into the person you never thought you could be.

Momo was never like that, no. She just changed. She changed so she could face the pain of getting rejected when simply confessing love she thought Mina would return.

In some way, Mina was the reason Momo was like that. A playgirl. She broke her heart and she was very aware of it, but at the same time there was nothing she could do. Just watch her have sex with everyone in campus so her frustration would finally fade away.

"I think I should go," Mina mumbled and proceeded getting up "It's late."

"No, it's okay" Chaeyoung said, instinctively tightening her hold on Mina's hand "I'm sure the girls wouldn't mind."


	12. BORING

"Love is inevitable, we've talked about it countless time in the three months of classes," professor Ahn spoke "But that doesn't mean the person you have to look for has to be perfect at all times. Everyone has their goods and their bads."

It was another class with professor Ahn and surprisingly more people had joined since the first course. Nothing serious had happened the past months apart from boring assignment dates for all three girls; Jihyo, Dahyun, and Chaeyoung.

Jihyo had started to cut herself out from the world a lot more since the first assignment and seemed generally pissed at everyone, though both Dahyun and Chaeyoung didn't have the guts to ask her about it. The oldest of the three would only talk if she wanted to, and it was clear at this point that she hasn't interested.

Dahyun on the other hand, was excitedly doing her assignments with her partners while at the same time gaining more friends. She slowly understood why Momo liked being surrounded by people so much and became more social, although her partners weren't people she was romantically interested in. Apart from that, she had gotten very close to Momo and would hang out with her almost every day. The younger would watch her practice and sweat over some choreography she left for the last minute and the older would drag Dahyun out for drinks every time she was stressed over any type of class assignment she thought she would fail. It was a give and take friendship, the girls always looked after each other and opened up whenever needed.

The younger girl had to comfort Momo about Mina countless nights where the older would drunk call her, searching for Mina. Momo never really told her the full story, only that they were in love, but one night after a series of events Mina left and pretended she didn't know her untill high school ended.

As for Chaeyoung, she was really distant with her assigned partners and never really cared about homework in the "Dating Class", as students called it. She only properly did her assignment on the first class with her partner Mina, after that she lost interest in it.

"Today's assignment will be cut into two parts, meaning you will have your partner for two weeks instead of one." the professor spoke and took a piece of paper out of his bag.

The firs half of the semester had ended so all students basically knew each other. However, not everyone had been paired up with everyone and that's what professor Ahn was aiming, assigning new pairs.

Jihyo was assigned to Jung Seongjuu. The pair were classmates and had already spent some time together over endless assignmetns in their first year of college. The girl knew a lot about him, but they would rarely hang out. Seongjuu was a busy guy, prioritizing making many friends and so it was hard reaching out to him and also, Jihyo didn't go out much. The girl knew how kind he was and didn't feel a bit insecure about being around him. It was rare you found a popular and handsome guy not being full of himself.

Chaeyoung was assigned to Kim Suji, a new student in class. Chaeyoung found her interesting, yet not interesting enough. However, she had no problem spending some time with her if that meant getting credit for the assignment. She knew she had better things to do outside of class, so she just wanted to get over with it.

Dahyun was assigned to Lee Myungsoo, much to Momo's disappointment. The girl knew how much Momo hated him as she would usually bash him. Although Momo said he was a perv and a weirdo, Dahyun didn't exactly believe her. She wanted to get to know him first, maybe he wasn't as bad as the older said.

"Your first assignment with your new partner is getting them to your favourite place, letting them get to know more about you, and perhaps open up," the professor said "Explain why the place you chose means something to you and tell them the story behind it." the man explained before dismissing the class.

"Jihyo-ssi!" Seongjuu approached the girl, who waited outside of class for her group of friends.

The younger girls seemed occupied talking to their partners and Jihyo had slowly started to loose her patience.

"Hi." she dryly replied, tapping her foot on the floor.

"I was thinking of days we could do the assigmnet,"the guy smiled "I've cleared my schedule."

"Text me when you can." Jihyo said and handed him a piece of paper with her number on it that she had written inside of class for this exact reason, avoiding talking to her new partner. Alhough she was sure Seongjuu already had her number somewhere in his thousands saved contacts.

"Good," the guy smiled "Talk to you later!"

"Yeah." Jihyo mumbled, groaning as her friends slowly made their way near her while talking to each other about something she didn't care "Took you long enough."

"Sorry unnie," Dahyun apologized "Let's head back now. It's my turn to cook lunch today!"

"Uh," Chaeyoung mumbled, looking at her phone in her hands "I won't join you for lunch, I have plans."

"Oooh~" Dahyun smirked "With who?"

Chaeyoung looked between Jihyo and Dahyun gulping. She had been keeping with who she usually goes out from her friends for a long time.

"Suji," Jihyo quickly spoke "I heard you two talking about it" she said, glancing at the younger.

"Yeah, Suji." Chaeyoung awkwardly replied, unlocking her phone.

**chaeyoung**  
you know im not going  
out with suji, right?  
why are you covering  
up for me?

  
**jihyo**  
I'm simply helping you  
get out a weird argument with Dahyun.  
It's close you're going out with Mina.  
To me at least.  
And I know you feel bad because  
of the weird relationship between Momo  
and Mina and the fact Dahyun has to  
usually comfort Momo about their breakup.  
That doesn't mean I'll keep lying and pretend I don't know you've gotten close with Mina.  
You have to talk to us about it, I'm sure Dahyun won't get mad.  
I mean why would she? She's not  
Momo's mother nor can she stop her  
from moving on.  
  
**chaeyoung**  
yeah, but mina hurt her  
she feels bad but  
can't do anything about it  
it's complicated and she hasn't told  
me anything other than that she's sorry  
  
**jihyo**  
That's something between the  
two of them to solve.  
I'm just saying that you have to  
let Dahyun know about your relationship  
with Mina. Especially, if there's something  
going on.  
  
**chaeyoung**  
there isn't.  
  
**jihyo**  
Sure?  
  
**chaeyoung**  
i mean, we're just hanging  
out and i help her with painting  
she picked up on it after our  
first call months ago  
  
**jihyo**  
Okay, but please be careful.  
  
**chaeyoung**  
alright mom jeez  
  
**jihyo**  
Oh shut up!  
  
**chaeyoung**  
make me  
  
**jihyo**  
I can't stand you. Just go  
  
**chaeyoung**  
thanksss

  
**jihyo**  
I'll be out of the dorm  
tonight. I hope you have  
keys with you.  
  
**chaeyoung**  
i doo i doo


	13. WALK

**seongjuu**  
Hello Jihyo-ssi, I assume   
you're already at the meeting   
place for the project?  
  
**jihyo**  
Yep. Just got there.  
  
**seongjuu**  
Great!! I'm on my way to  
pick up some stuff for us   
and will be there in a few.  
Did you take a jacket?  
It's kinda cold and we'll be  
walking around for a bit.  
  
**jihyo**  
Don't worry, I grabbed one  
when I left my dorm.  
I'm preosred for wherever   
you take me.  
  
**seongjuu**  
Awesome then. See ya!!

Jihyo sighed as she pushed her phone into the pocket of her coat, neglecting to check the messages she was receiving and groaning when the annoying notification sound wouldn't stop.

The night was still young and the girl waited just outside the campus cafeteria, waiting for her partner to show up. In all honesty, Jihyo didn't know why she was still a part of that class. Even if she had promised to stay throughout the whole year for the sake of Dahyun's happiness, she didn't seem to enjoy it as much as she did in the beginning. At this point, she was convinced that only Dahyun was taking a liking in communicating with all these people, going out on lame dates and listening to them talk about stuff she didn't wish to hear. Jihyo knew that Chaeyoung was, too, getting tired of the class, but didn't give much thought to it. It seemed like her and Mina had be hitting it off from the first time they talked to each other.

It was weird, how she felt at Sana's place months ago. For some reason, the image of her hugging Tzuyu was etched deep inside her mind. Jihyo didn't know if it was jealousy, the thing she was feeling. And if it really was, why would she be jealous? Everyone has the right to be with whoever they want to be with. And Jihyo has no say in it, it's not like she felt something for the girl. But again, why would Sana act this way towards her? Why was she so eager to be with the girl, ask her friends for what she likes, being so clingy, and always spamming her phone? It was confusing, really, Sana's behavior. If she had a girlfriend, why would she do all these? Nothing made sense and Jihyo simply wanted to get everything out of her head.

Jihyo slowly blinked, running her hand through her short messy hair. She was never like this, she was never thinking of someone for over than a couple of hours and for a reason other than unfinished business or worry. This was a feeling completely different and even if she was pretty smart, she couldn't figure out the reason behind nor handle it. It was slowly eating her alive, burning her insides and creeping in the back of her head for almost every hour of every day for the past three months.

"Hi!" a voice said, snapping her out of her thoughts "How are you?"

"Hey," Jihyo breathed out "I'm fine. You?"

"Pretty good I might say," Seongjuu smiled and offered his hand to the girl "Shall we get going?"

The girl nodded and got up to walk beside the charming man as they made their way to the place he had picked to show Jihyo. While walking, Seongjuu tried starting small talk and get filled in with everything he has missed the last time the two had hang out. The wind became stronger as they walked farther, laughing and reminiscing the blood, sweat, and tears that went into their project some years ago and the satisfaction the both felt when the professor announced they had the highest grade.

For a moment, Jihyo's mind traveled from the girl that had been haunting it and focused on the boy next to her, whose laughter echoed in the woods he was taking her to. Even if late at night, the place wasn't scary at all. It was lit by the intense light of the moon and had a beautiful view of the campus from afar. To be honest, Jihyo didn't realize how they got so far up this quickly, nevertheless she enjoyed the way the buildings looked from up high.

"So, this is it." Seongjuu said, laying a table cloth on the ground and helping Jihyo sit while pulling out a pair of glasses and some wine.

Jihyo chuckled, a beautiful view and wine felt like the best thing at that moment and she was slightly thankful to professor Ahn for assigning her to Seongjuu. It almost crossed her mind, the memory of him asking her out in middle school and her saying no although she liked him a lot. But she decided to brush it of and focus on the boy and the way he mumbled about forgetting to bring food.

"You drink wine, right?" the boy chuckled settling next to her while offering her one of the glasses "I remember you always being cautious about..everything."

"Yeah," Jihyo mumbled "That's how I am, I guess." 

The girl never meant to be like that, annoyingly cautious. It was how she grew up and even if it limited a lot of her life experiences, she was safe and enjoying her life as it was.

"It's okay," Seongjuu smiled, pouring some of the wine in Jihyo's glass "Being yourself is the most important thing in the world. Even if some people find it unattractive." he said as his hand shook lightly and the sleeve of his jacket rode up his arm, only to awkwardly been pulled down by him.

Jihyo didn't pay mind to it though or the weird spots on his arms. She enjoyed the way the slightly cold wine eased her nerves, effortlesly bringing her to her most relaxed state, the-tipsy-but-not-tipsy-enough-to-do-something-stupid state.

"So," the girl started, enjoying the view "What's the reason behind bringing me here?"

Seongjuu sighed beside her, supporting his body weight with his elbows as he leaned back. His eyes were closed and his head down.

"Here I had some of the best momments in my life with my ex-girlfriend," he started "This is technically her get away place, though I don't know if she still comes here."

"Oh," Jihyo whispered "Is she in campus?"

"Yeah," Seongjuu replied "We dated in the summer before college until a half and a year ago." he said, opening his eyes to look at Jihyo.

"Are you okay?"

"I am," he smiled "Just regretting everything that happened between us and the reason for our breakup."

Jihyo furrowed her eyebrows, he indeed seemed fine, but the way he downed all the wine proved her otherwise. It was then she realized he had been acting kind of weird and didn't know the reason. Maybe because opening your heart to your old best friend that you once liked after years of not talking to them felt weird.

"She broke up with you?"

"No," Seongjuu sighed "We both agreed to it. I really don't know how she didn't hate me, I did some pretty bad stuff."

"It's okay," Jihyo reassured, moving a hand to his shoulder "I don't believe you would ever purposely hurt someone or even hurt someone." she spoke while the sound of leaves ruffling and people running was heard.

And just like in Greek tragedies, a dramatic irony happened when a bunch of people attacked the pair while using their hands to muffle both of their screams and punched and kicked around their bodies in search of something. Something that only Seongjuu knew about, but wouldn't provide answers to.


	14. PICK UP THE PHONE

**jihyo**

  
**sana**  
Hey Jihyo,  
You've been ignoring me  
for a long time and I don't   
know why, but I washed your   
scarf and thought of returning it.  
I forgot I had it until now that I'm  
replacing winter clothes with summer   
ones.  
So when you see this can we meet?  
I missed you.  
Jihyo?  
Hello???

* * *

  
**sana**  
Hello Chaeyoung-ssi, it's Sana.  
I don't know if you have any number  
still saved from our assignment, but  
I was actually looking for Jihyo.  
There's this scarf I've been wanting  
to give back but she won't reply.  
Is there any way she's at your guys'   
dorm?  
  
**chaeyoung**  
hey. no she's out with that seongjuu  
on his favorite place. all three of us  
are out of the dorm but i can try  
calling her if you want to  
  
**sana**  
That would be great. Thanks.  
  
**chaeyoung**  
uh she won't reply?  
  
**sana**  
Really?  
  
**chaeyoung**  
yah  
  
**sana**  
Okay, thanks again.  
You said she's with Seongjuu?  
Jung Seongjuu?  
  
**chaeyoung**  
uh huh  
you know him?  
  
**sana**  
Kinda.

* * *

_ chaeyoung's phone  _

  
**dahyun, jihyo**

  
  
**chaeyoung**  
hey ji?  
can you pick up ur phone?  
are you guys there?   
any of you?  
this is getting me worried  
y'all reply within seconds  
yo pls reply guys  
cut the bullshit

* * *

  
**momo assignment 4**

  
  
**chaeyoung**  
momo-ah?  
  
**momo**  
Oh what's up? We aren't partners   
anymore.  
  
**chaeyoung**  
yeah ik but r u with dahyun?  
  
**momo**  
No. She's out with that Myungsoo   
guy -.-  
Why?  
  
**chaeyoung**  
it's just that both jihyo   
and dahyun won't pick  
up their phones   
  
**momo**  
I swear to the lord if he's   
done something nasty to  
Dahyun.  
Should we go out to look for her?  
And Jihyo too.  
  
**chaeyoung**  
sana unnie has gone to look  
for her i think   
  
**momo**  
Minatozaki?  
  
**chaeyoung**   
yeah  
  
**momo**  
Okay?  
Let's go for Dahyun. It's getting   
really late and I don't trust  
Myungsoo.  
  
**chaeyoung**  
yeah that's the thing   
i can't come  
  
**momo**  
Why?  
  
**chaeyoung**  
i have stuff  
so  
  
**momo**  
Whatever I'll go find her.  
  
**chaeyoung**  
thanks   
  
**momo**  
Yeah  



	15. PICK UP THE PHONE

**jihyo**

  
**sana**  
Hey Jihyo,  
You've been ignoring me  
for a long time and I don't  
know why, but I washed your  
scarf and thought of returning it.  
I forgot I had it until now that I'm  
replacing winter clothes with summer  
ones.  
So when you see this can we meet?  
I missed you.  
Jihyo?  
Hello???

* * *

  
**sana**  
Hello Chaeyoung-ssi, it's Sana.  
I don't know if you have any number  
still saved from our assignment, but  
I was actually looking for Jihyo.  
There's this scarf I've been wanting  
to give back but she won't reply.  
Is there any way she's at your guys'  
dorm?  
  
**chaeyoung**  
hey. no she's out with that seongjuu  
on his favorite place. all three of us  
are out of the dorm but i can try  
calling her if you want to  
  
**sana**  
That would be great. Thanks.  
  
**chaeyoung**  
uh she won't reply?  
  
**sana**  
Really?  
  
**chaeyoung**  
yah  
  
**sana**  
Okay, thanks again.  
You said she's with Seongjuu?  
Jung Seongjuu?  
  
**chaeyoung**  
uh huh  
you know him?  
  
**sana**  
Kinda.

* * *

chaeyoung's phone 

  
**dahyun, jihyo**

  
  
**chaeyoung**  
hey ji?  
can you pick up ur phone?  
are you guys there?  
any of you?  
this is getting me worried  
y'all reply within seconds  
yo pls reply guys  
cut the bullshit

* * *

  
**momo assignment 4**

  
  
**chaeyoung**  
momo-ah?  
  
**momo**  
Oh what's up? We aren't partners  
anymore.  
  
**chaeyoung**  
yeah ik but r u with dahyun?  
  
**momo**  
No. She's out with that Myungsoo  
guy -.-  
Why?  
  
**chaeyoung**  
it's just that both jihyo  
and dahyun won't pick  
up their phones  
  
**momo**  
I swear to the lord if he's  
done something nasty to  
Dahyun.  
Should we go out to look for her?  
And Jihyo too.  
  
**chaeyoung**  
sana unnie has gone to look  
for her i think  
  
**momo**  
Minatozaki?  
  
**chaeyoung**  
yeah  
  
**momo**  
Okay?  
Let's go for Dahyun. It's getting  
really late and I don't trust  
Myungsoo.  
  
**chaeyoung**  
yeah that's the thing  
i can't come  
  
**momo**  
Why?  
  
**chaeyoung**  
i have stuff  
so  
  
**momo**  
Whatever I'll go find her.  
  
**chaeyoung**  
thanks  
  
**momo**  
Yeah


	16. THORNS

Dahyun loved the night time. She loved the way the moon would hover above town and how the small, shiny stars would accompany it on the dark and mysterious sky. The girl liked the way the temperature would drop, especially on summer, where you could easily take a walk out without sweating. It was the right time for everything, she thought, but at the same time was reluctant to go out late at night.

She has always been told that criminals came out at night, just like wild animals, patiently waiting for their prey. She has always been told that they attack silently, at a time you would not expect them to and has always been reminded not to trust strangers, even if they try to lure you into their trap. Even if they play nice, show you the affection you've benen craving, or perhaps turn into the perfect person for a while.

That was Dahyun's mistake that night, trusting them. And now she limbed through an emtpy street, tears streaming down her face as the moon's light slowly faded in between the big trees.

She was dumb, Dahyun internally screamed. She was truly dumb and deserved what she had been through just now. Momo told her, she warned her, but Dahyun didn't listen. She got caught in his trap and felt the nightmare she first experienced a few years ago all over again.

_"Hey," Myungsoo smiled, opening the door to his car for the girl "You look really pretty."_

_"Thanks." Dahyun muttered, getting in his car that was parked outside of her dorm. _

_It was another night where she had gotten out for an assignment. She had been doing quite good in class and was enjoying herself, although Momo had been annoying her about the guy she was going out with._

_"Are you ready?" he asked as he started the engine "Let's have fun tonight!"_

_Dahyun was sure that Myungsoo meant no harm. Even if he had been acting like a complete douche in class, he was a complete sweetheart outside of it. He was very kind to Dahyun, tried making her laugh and succesfully broke the ice. The girl didn't know what about him Momo despised so much or how she came to the conclusion that he would hurt the younger._

_"Where are we?" the girl asked as she stepped out the car, looking around at the deserted place._

_"Don't be afraid," Myungsoo laughed, offering his hand to Dahyun "This is my meditation place."_

_Dahyun raised an eyebrow as the boy led her to a tree house that was barely seen in the dark shade the big trees surrounding it provided. It was rather simple, nothing too extra like all those tree houses you see in movies. Strangely, the girl felt an urge to get in. Probably because she had never done anything like that before, she had never imagined of someone owning a tree house._

_"My father built this when he was around my age," Myungsoo spoke as he assisted the girl up the wooden ladder "This is where he and my mother would meet while in their youth."_

_The boy opened the door that revealed a simple yet cute place. There wasn't anything special about it, it was as the girl expected it to be. It had a few lamps to provide light during the times where the sun was falling asleep, a stack of comics, and an old guitar._

_"You know how to play?" Dahyun smiled, motioning at the guitar while sitting on the hard, wooden floor._

_"I do," Myungsoo breathed out, reaching out to grab the instrument "My mother taught me how to."_

_"That's sweet," the girl said as she watched the boy softly play "You said this is your meditation place?"_

_"Yeah," Myungsoo said "I think meditating can contribute to anything."_

_"Like?" Dahyun questioned, leaning back against the wooden wall as her eyes traveled over the night sky. _

_"Whatever," Myungsoo smiled and scooted closer "School, anxiety, anger. Everything that bothers you can go away." he said as his hand rested on top of Dahyun's while the girl spaced out, lost deep into her own thoughts. _

_The girl had been thinking a lot about her past and present self recently, she was reflecting on the emotional changes and the effect of being more social than usual had on her. She was trying to figure herself out and what she wanted to do, what she liked, who she liked, and basically everything. She wanted to leave everything that happened in the past behind and the fact that Myungsoo wouldn't quit on being so physical with her made it even harder for her to move on. Move on from the trauma that's been keeping her from letting herself free and finally accepting who she really is._

_"Can you not do that please?" the girl mumbled as Myungsoo's hand traveled from on top of her own to her thigh and slowly moved further up. _

_"Why?" the guy smirked, his body hovering above Dahyun's as they sat next to each other "Don't you like it?"_

_It all came back to her. They way Myungsoo touched her body and proceeded kissing her by pinning her on the ground and getting on top of her, it all reminded her of **that day**._

_"Please," Dahyun squirmed under his body, kicking her feet around while his mouth left kisses on her neck "Leave me alone."_

_As the time passed, Myungsoo got more aggressive and when Dahyun wouldn't cooperate he jumped to his feet, dragging her up with him by her hair. He pushed her against the wall and bit her collarbone when her legs started shaking and the first salty tears stained her cheeks._

_"Can you stop moving around?!" Myungsoo hollered, gripping the girl's hip who later collapsed on the floor crying. _

_This really wasn't happening, not again, Dahyun thought as she felt the hot liquid spilling from her dark brown orbs and on the wooden floor as if seeds were planted and she watered them so they would bloom into flowers. _

_"S-Stop this." the girl said in between sobs and tried pushing the man away, who had kneeled down, trying to hold her in place._

_And she figured her tears couldn't exactly help in growing beautiful plants out of the the imaginary seeds on the ground. If they were real they would bloom into hideous, black colored flowers. Probably the ugliest roses you'd ever seen, just like her, with thorns sharp as blades and long as a sword, one of those existing in the old days that was used for killing enemies. _

_"Cut it off, you slut!" the __guy__ screeched as he failed to __lift_ _the__ girl's shirt up, who was uncontrollably crying. Crying so loud Myungsoo thought he would go __deaf__._

_It's true, when they say tears represent your feelings and feelings represent you. That's why it only made sense that the girl was dark, ugly, and dangerous—just like the flowers blooming from the seeds, watered by her tears—attacking people with her thorns so she won't get hurt again, but failing miserably when an experienced planter found the way to pluck her out without getting stung, hurting her in the worst way._

_"Don't make me do this!" Myungsoo hissed, raising his hand and letting fall with all his force over the side of Dahyun's face only to leave a big, red mark on the delicate pale skin. _

_In no time, the one hit became two and the two, twenty. Dahyun's soft and milky skin was painted in different shades of red. Some light, like the colour of the fading sunset and some intense, like the burning sun on a summer day. Some even had started to turn purple with a hint of blue, reminding the girl the hair colour she used to have that almost looked identical with the one on her face._

_"Leave me alone," Dahyun shouted and punched the boy's chest "I need to go!"_

_It broke her heart to a million pieces, the way she was reminded of one of the worst days of her life and she scremead and cried, while kicking him off her body only to rush down the ladder and out the tree house. Her body was shaking, her brain constantly forcing her to a painful flashback of another boy, the boy that caused the unattractive, sharp, and long thorns to appear around her and turn her from a beautiful yellow rose to one of the colour of sadness, self-doubt, trauma._

_Dahyun fell off the ladder in attempts of getting away, her scream echoed in the deserted place as she ran away without looking back and afraid of the possibility of Myungsoo following her. _

And as she hurried on the empty streets, crying and blaming herself for trusting people easily, the words of Momo ghosted inside her head. Momo was sadly right, this man was no good and Dahyun was dumb and naive for not believing her.

But the realisation hit her like a brick in the face way too late and now she was stumbling, feeling her head throb in pain and the surroundings becoming a blur. She tried reaching to get her phone, fumble with it's buttons to get it to open, to no avail. Her phone was dead and she lost.

And so, Dahyun collapsed on the street, closing her eyes while being completely aware of her thorns growing, becoming more sharp with ends that carried poison, so she won't let anyone hurt her again.


	17. RUN

Sana wasn't usually active, she didn't like going to the gym nor running. The only way she would get exercise from was dancing. She had picked up on it when she first moved to Korea. It was the way of getting the hang of the language faster. The girl would put on any song that was trending and would dance her heart away. As the time passed, dancing became one of her favourite things and apart from keeping her in shape made her more comfortable in her own skin. However, on a night like this, Sana wished she had picked up on running as she hurried from out her dorm to find Jihyo.

Something wasn't right and Sana could feel it. She was well aware of the fact that Jihyo would ignore her and never talk to her after she dragged her out of her dorm one morning, but this was a completely different situation. Jihyo was out with a guy in the woods, not replying to her texts or picking up calls from one of her bestfriends, Chaeyoung. And Sana knew Jihyo wouldn't do anything other than talk to her date, she knew her. It was too out of character suddenly sleeping with someone on the first date.

So it only made sense she was in trouble, Sana thought as her feet dragged her to the place she oftenly visited. The place she spent all her sleepless nights in, stressing over not being good enough for school and the possibility of her parents being disappointed in her.

"Jihyo-ah?" she called out, panting as she reached her destination and moved a hand to her chest while trying to catch her breath.

Everything was dead silent, only the sound of the crickets was heard and some heavy breathing Sana concluded was her own. She pulled out her phone and opened the flashlight, it was midnight anyway, and continued walking to the place she could almost navigate around with eyes closed.

It didn't take long for her to reach the place she had been planning to, the one she randomly discovered when in her first ever tour around the campus was done years back. Sana frowned when she remembered that day and the delicate hand of the boy that lead her and pointed at everything, explaining in her native language how being a college student was truly like. Because even if Sana seemed very confident and outgoing, she was scared when firstly coming to Korea.

"Is anyone—" Sana started, stopping mid-sentence when finding someone laying on the ground, motionless. Her heart rate started to rise dangerously as she took the first few steps, already suspecting who that someone could be.

Everything matched, the body type, hair, faint whimpers. Sana was familiar with all of that and she lost it when she saw the sleeves of their jacket rolled up to reveal the ugly marks. It was that hand, that same delicate hand that she grew to love holding.

It was him, the first ever boy to show her what a true gentleman was like and was there to help her through the struggles of being a foreign student in a world where racism and hatred seemed to be ruling.

But now, the boy was just laying there. Not moving an inch or excitedly shouting her name and greeting her like he always did, even if they were broken up. Even if he was harming himself in the worst way possible. This was ten times worse.

That's when she knew this whole situation didn't mean good and she swore if she could make him stop hurting himself in the past, she would. She really didn't want to see him like this.

"Seongjuu," Sana called out and ran by his side, falling on her knees on the ground while shaking his body with her trembeling hands. He looked worse from up close "What happened? Where's Jihyo?"

The boy didn't respond, just smiled when he opened his eyes. His nose was bleeding and he had a busted lip, his shirt was torn and the contents of his coat's pockets were emptied on the ground. Sana could see his wallet and apartment keys from back home with the distinctive key chain she had given him on his birthday almost two years ago.

"You're here." the boy chuckled breathlessly, moving to grab Sana's hand.

"Seongjuu, will you tell me what happened?" Sana repeated, keeping herself from punching some sense to him "Or where Jihyo is?"

"Well," Seongjuu started "The payment was due and they wanted money."

"Who?" the girl asked, although she knew what he meant. She had been through all of this, finding him beaten up somewhere because he failed to pay.

"Let's not talk about it~" Seongjuu laughed, closing his eyes.

"Are you drunk?"

"No," the boy pouted "Just wanted to get rid of the pain in my body." he hiccuped, accidently kicking the emtpy bottle of wine that rested on his feet.

Sana sighed and took out her phone while wathching Seongjuu fade into unconsciousness "Where is Jihyo?" she asked as her fingers frantically tapped over her phone's screen.

"Jihyo?" the guy asked as a sudden look of worry crossed his face features "I don't know! Oh my God!"

Seongjuu squirmed and tried to sit up, only to have Sana scold him and hold him back down until she finished typing. She could only imagine the worst of things happening to Jihyo, but she had not to let worry stop her from helping the girl. It was obvious both of them needed help and thankfully, Sana had a lot of experience from the past. 

"Sana," the boy sighed "Thanks for always saving me somehow."

"Don't talk, Seong. I'm having help coming over."

"No. I want to say this," he insisted, "From all the relationships I had in my life, you're the only one who actually tried to help me stop this, this habbit—"

"Please.."

"I know I was a bad boyfriend and that it hurt you, having to run after me, picking my drugged ass up from around town," Seongjuu spoke, slurring his words "I didn't deserve you, but thank you for everything. I don't know what I'd do without you, Sana."

The girl didn't know what to say. The memories of her dragging her ex-boyfriend from hospital to hospital or trying to convince him from stopping drugs invaded her mind and she momentarily forgot to reply to the texts she was being sent.

"Please forgive me, forgive me for not listening to you," the boy said in a shaky voice, barely being able to keep his eyes open "Forgive me for not stopping this, for hurting you."

"It's okay. It's okay!" Sana repeated, pinching her own hand in attempts of not letting herself cry. It wasn't easy, it never was, dating a drug addict.

"We need to find Jihyo." Seongjuu mumbled before falling unconscious and letting Sana's hand go, who immediately sprang to her feet in search of Jihyo.

It wasn't hard for Sana to spot the girl. She knew this place too good as she would usually camp there whenever things got tough and she needed a place to clear her head. It was _her_ _getaway place_.

"Jihyo?" Sana almost scremead as she saw Jihyo laying on the ground, her back facing Sana. "Are you okay?" Sana's voice echoed loudly, making the girl in front of her flinch.

The girl didn't know what to do when she turned her on her back, examining all the scars and blood on the girl's face. She would usually be quick with a decison, but when looking at Jihyo in a state like this, she felt time freeze and her heart firstly shrinking and then popping, like a balloon that's been in the cold for a while and then suddenly put under the bright sun.

"S-Sana?" Jihyo lowly whispered, opening one eye but closing it immediately. Some of her clohes were ripped too, while blood stained the rest of them. Her hair was messy and a faint shade of purple had already showed up under her left eye.

"Shh," Sana smiled, a tear almost escaping her eye "I'm here now, you're safe." she said, sighing as she brought Jihyo closer to her body, warming her freezing body while reaching out to her phone once more.

**tzuyu**

  
**sana**  
Need help ASAP  
  
**tzuyu**  
Where are you?  
Why aren't you in the dorm?  
Is everything okay?  
  
**sana**  
I just need your medical help  
Come to the place we met  
Hurry  
  
**tzuyu**  
What's going on?  
  
**sana**  
I don't have the time to explain.   
Just come.  
  
**tzuyu**  
Okay. I'm on my way  
  
**sana**  
Bring the emergency kit.  



	18. TRUST

"Where are your car keys?" Momo asked, flinging open the door to her best friend's room.

"What the fuck Momo?!" the girl squealed, covering her body with her bedsheets.

"Where.are.your.car.keys?"

"Can't you see I'm fucking busy?" Nayeon retorted, motioning to the girl next to her on the bed, who had already drifted to sleep "What do you need my car keys for exactly?"

"Just tell me where the fuck they are," Momo shouted "I don't have time for this!"

Nayeon groaned and pointed over at a pair of jeans tossed in the other side of the room. Momo wasted no time as she ran, stepping over a line of clothes and finally reaching her roommate's while frantically searching in it's pockets.

"You're welcome, motherfucker." the older rolled her eyes, watching Momo rush out of her room.

"Yeah, whatever," the brunnete snorted "I love you, use protection. Bye!" she lastly said before banging the door closed and running out of the pair's dorm.

Momo loved her roomate, Nayeon, but swore sometimes she wanted to kill her. They've known each other since Momo can remember herself and the older was actually the one who introduced Mina to her. Even if jokingly saying she regretted it, Momo was thankful.

"Come on." the girl hissed, trying to open the door to Nayeon's car only to realize it was locked. 

With a dramatic moan of frustation, Momo opened the door and sat on the drivers seat while simultaneously trying to put the keys in the ignition. The girl didn't have her license yet, but could still drive (kinda). Nayeon had taught her how to on the night of Momo's sixteenth birthday, when she stole her mother's car in attempts of picking Mina up and taking her on a date on the beach she so wanted to go. Though this wasn't a time to be thinking about Mina, Momo reminded herself as she drove out of campus, wrecking her brain for some possible places Dahyun would be at. Because from Chaeyoung's texts she grew worried, getting the idea of Dahyun possibly being in danger. And Momo didn't want that, she wanted the girl to be safe and sound and the suspicions about Myungsoo to be wrong.

Her first thought was passing by the series of cafes and restaurants just outside of campus, in hopes of finding her somewhere.

"Shit." she mumbled when she speeded with the car past the shops, realizing they were all closed at this hour. It was almost two in the morning, anyway.

She then thought of going to the arcade that wasn't very far from where she actually was at the moment. It was open twenty four hours a day and the destination of many dates from students living in campus. And that she did, rolling down the windows because she felt like she was suffocating and sweating profusely.

As she drove, the faint sound of the wheels against the dry asphalt kept her in this world because, honestly, she thought she would be floating if not reminded by their screeching she was driving. Her mind was traveling places and not in a good way, it was stuck in a continuous and very ugly loop of a world where Dahyun was hurt.

Although Momo didn't know Dahyun for that long to feel so emotionally connected to her, she couldn't help herself. It was like she was seeing her grade school self, naive and excited to live, but too scared. And in some way Momo didn't want Dahyun to devolve to the person she was now, careless and numb. She couldn't stand imagining that bright smile of hers losing it's volume, her lively voice quieting down. She didn't want Dahyun to change like she did, change for the worse.

Momo was aware of the changes she had been through and in the back of her head she always blamed Mina for it, but she was sure it wasn't entirely her fault.

"People who change by the influence of others are weak." was what her mother said and still does. And admittedly, Momo was weak.

Though she could tell Dahyun wasn't, something behind that innocent face and giggle held the strongest emotions and Momo would be lying if she said she didn't wish to explore it, every part of it and every part of her. She felt the urge to get to know every part of Dahyun, Kim Dahyun.

A few raindrops falling on Momo's hand that rested out of the open window brought her back to reality, snapping her thoughts.

It was extremely funny how Momo had made a simple task so difficult and she chuckled for a while before reminding herself of the girl that could potentially be in danger. The way to the arcade was the easiest thing ever, all you had to do was go straight ahead. Momo didn't realize how she had magically appeared in what seemed like a deserted and very dark place, with a long dirt road and a lot of trees.

The girl stopped the car and turned off the engine for a while, trying to make any other sounds other than that of the rain or the crickets. She focused the most she ever had in her life, waiting for the slightest sound to confirm someone is around. 

And when she heard it, she made a mental note to herself to have some jokbal as a treat for the great work she did with focusing, before observing another car that had just turned the corner speeding off to somewhere.

"The fuck you're going, huh?" Momo muttered to herself, turning the engine back on and following the person from behind after rolling up the windows.

The rain had gotten stronger when the car in front of Momo halted to a stop and a figure of what seemed to be a panicked man came out and crouched on the road just in front of his car.

Moments later, Momo swore her head would explode from anger when seeing the figure carrying another smaller one with long hair. And Momo wished the person wasn't the one she thought it was or in the condition she suspected. But all her pleads went to waste as the rock on the girl's necklace shone brightly, blinding the man a little.

_"What is this?" Momo asked the girl laying next to her, who smiled and turned to look at her._

_Momo and Dahyun were laying on the latter's bed in her shared room with Chaeyoung talking endlessly as they always did._

_"My rock," the younger proudly said, showing off the shiny piece to her friend "Blue represents freedom, loyalty, wisdom, trust, and so much more."_

_The girl's voice boomed inside the room that was occupied only by the pair as Chaeyoung had stated she wouldn't be spending the night in the dorm._

_"My grandma gave it to me on the day of my twelfth birthday," Dahyun continued, tracing the piece of jewelry with her index finger "It even glows in the dark!"_

_"Ah, really?" Momo chuckled at the girl's excitement, studying her face features for the first time up close._

_"Yeah," the younger smiled, jumping to her feet and running to turn off the light "See? It's so sparkly and bright!"_

_Dahyun giggled as she used the light emitting from the rock to navigate back to the bed and next to Momo, plopping on the bouncy mattress. _

_"Blue suits you." the older said, squinting her eyes in attempts of making the girl's whole face out in the dark._

_"No," Dahyun huffed "Though, I'm pretty sure it looks better on you." she grinned, handing the necklace to the brunette. _

_"Woah," Momo breathed out as she examined the rock from up close, clutching it in her hand before giving it up back to the younger "It must mean a lot to you."_

_"How'd you now?" Dahyun asked, not bothering to open the light._

_"It has 'I love you granny, 11/9' engraved on it," the older lowered her voice as she watched Dahyun's grin fade, unlike the bright light coming from her rock that resting on her chest "I'm sorry."_

_"It's fine," Dahyun replied "Don't worry."_

_"You know, November ninth is my birthday." Momo almost whispered._

_"Oh."_

_"What I meant is," the brunette spoke again while locking eyes with the girl "On that day you won't have the grief bringing you down as much as it does now."_

_"Elaborate."_

_"I'll be there," Momo shrugged "We will celebrate my birthday together, every year, and probably drink too much we'll forget our own name."_

_Dahyun laughed for a while, before sighing once again. _

_"I'll make sure you're happy," Momo spoke "So your grandma doesn't have to worry. How does that sound?"_

_"Every year?"_

_"Yes, every year." the brunette smiled, pocking the girl's cheek. _

_"That sounds nice, thanks." Dahyun cracked a small grin._

_The pair fell quiet for a while, looking into each others eyes._

_"Are you alright?" Momo asked._

_"Yes, totally," Dahyun said as she scooted closer to the older "Besides, my granny is always here." she breathed out, pocking with her index finger Momo's chest over the spot the necklace rested on her own._

Momo clenched the fabric of her shirt over her chest, kicking the door of Nayeon's car open and almost regretting it after.

"Hey!" she shouted, making the man freeze in place.

He looked back, his clothes and hair were already drenched as the rain fell. However, he didn't talk, only started walking back to his car with the girl on his hands.

Momo glanced at the man and then the necklace around the girl's neck, she ran her fingers through her wet hair and threw the jacket she was wearing on the ground before sprinting towards the dude's direction.

"Are you fucking nuts?!" Myungsoo hollered, almost losing his balance when Momo launched at him, kicking his kneecaps.

The man stumbled back, losing the good grip he had on the girl and almost dropping her.

"What did you do to her?" Momo shouted over the loud sound of rain that had gotten so strong it limited her eye sight.

"Nothing," the guy spoke, backing away when Momo took hold of the girl's hand "Leave us alone!"

And maybe it was the rain and how soaked she was or the way Dahyun's eyes refused to open or maybe even the douche she was facing, but Momo snapped. She let a frustrated groan as she took the unconscious girl away from Myungsoo and kicked his kneecaps one more time, making him slip and fall on the wet road.

Hurrying, she moved the girl in her roommate's car while gently laying her on the back seat and getting in. Momo looked around on the car for anything to cover Dahyun's trembling body up, only to find Jeongyeon's coat that she forgot while she and her girlfriend—Momo's roomate, Nayeon—where too impatient to get intimate.

After covering up the girl with the big coat, Momo started the engine and drove off, leaving Myungsoo behind and speeding back home. The woman checked on the rear view mirror to see Dahyun squirming and crying in fear. The sight alone broke her heart into a million pieces.

"Dahyunie, it's me, Momo," the brunette spoke, resulting in the girl's cries to quiet down and the trembling of her body to settle "We're going back to my dorm now, is that okay?"

It was Momo's first time seeing Dahyun so broken and vulnerable. And it was then she figured she had gotten to experience the emotions behind her smile and innocent giggle, though she feared, she feared of the reason that caused such emotions to the girl. She wished she could help, just like Dahyun did with her.

"You're okay now," Momo bitterly smiled, meeting Dahyun's gaze through the mirror "I got you."

And without Momo expecting it, Dahyun smiled as one last tear trickled down her flushed cheeks and falling on her precious stone that provided her with trust that Momo found completely ironic at the moment. Maybe having so much trust in others was what hurt Dahyun and the older couldn't stand it.

That's when Momo promised to be a person worthy of Dahyun's trust and stick by her through whatever happened that rainy night and through so much more. And to never, ever, betray her. Never betray her trust.


	19. WORRIES

The low whispers of two people woke Jihyo up, whose head throbbed and face felt numb. The girl slowly opened her eyes, expecting to see the ceiling of her room in her dorm, the ceiling she was so used of looking during sleepless nights. However, she didn't. Instead of the plain white and boring ceiling, she saw a light gray one. Furrowing her brows and trying not to panick she attempted getting up.

"Hey!" a voice called out "Lay back down."

Jihyo would be lying if she said she didn't recognize that high-pitched squeal or the figure coming running into the room in sweatpants and a loose t-shirt that barely clinged onto her shoulders.

"Sana?" the girl looked around, taking in the view of the unfamiliar room and bed she was in "Where am I?"

"My dorm." Sana shrugged, yawning loudly.

"Why am I here?" Jihyo asked "What time is it?"

"Easy there with the questions," the blonde laughed "It's four in the morning."

"Go to bed!" Jihyo almosted shouted "I'm going back to my dorm, the girls might be worried."

Sana sighed, eyeing Tzuyu quietly entering the room and handing Jihyo an aspirin before walking out again and flashing a kind smile to both girls.

"They aren't," the blonde said "I mean, I told Chaeyoung you're here, but Dahyun.."

"Dahyun what?"

"We didn't know where she was," Sana replied never meeting the girls eyes as her gaze was fixated on the big bruise on the side of her face "Until now."

"Is she alright?" Jihyo jumped up from the bed, refusing to take the aspirin "And Chae, where is she?"

"She is. Both of your dates today were quite dramatic, but it's okay. Momo, from our class, found her," the girl breathed out, still standing by the door of her own room "Chaeyoung is out of the dorm, that's the only thing she told me. But she's fine."

"I need to go, Sana." Jihyo said before looking down at her clothes, which weren't exactly her clothes anymore. 

"Uh, no."

"Why?" the girl whined, feeling heat rush to her cheeks when realizing she was wearing Sana's clothes.

"Because you were beaten up?" Sana stated "Both you and Seongjuu. I don't want you leaving in this state."

"You know Seongjuu?" the girl had so many questions and the fact that Sana was walking closer to her, pushing her down on the bed with her slightly dump wetting her white tee and—

"We used to date."

"Oh that's why—" Jihyo felt a lump forming in her throat. She didn't know why she felt the way she did after just being attacked.

"I found you, yes," Sana whispered "Now go back to bed. We'll talk about it when you wake up."

"But,"

"Nope."

"Seongjuu?"

"Tzuyu and her boyriend got him to the hospital after cleaning up his and your wounds," the blonde said "Stop worrying."

"Her boyfriend?" Jihyo mumbled, smiling to herself. She suddenly felt so happy and she couldn't even explain why.

"Yeah," Sana rolled her eyes "They're both so annoying, always talking about medical stuff, shots, blood.."

Jihyo flinched at the sound of the red liquid, frantically looking over her whole body in search of any blood. Jihyo hated blood. She feared it. And it was annoying, but she couldn't do much about it. It made a lot of stuff hard for her.

"Woah, are you okay?" the blonde asked, hovering above the panicking girl.

"Blood.." she panted.

"You're alright," Sana reassured "We cleaned you up." she said with a smile that intimidated the brunette and made her forget about her fear as the the skin on her cheeks flushed again.

"T-Thanks." Jihyo whispered, the thought of Sana helping her shower causing a shy grin form on her face.

"Don't be so shy about it," the girl giggled "We're all girls here."

"Sana," Jihyo whined "You're making it worse!"

"Okay, okay," Sana brought her hands up in surrender "I'm going to leave you rest now."

"Where are you sleeping?" Jihyo asked, sinking deeper into Sana's bed in attempts of hiding her flushed cheeks and slowing down her racing heart.

"The couch," Sana shrugged "Tzuyu is uhm, busy with her boyfriend in her room I guess. So I'll just crash there."

"You can't!"

"But you're in my bed—"

"Sleep with me," Jihyo blurted out, internally screaming right after "I m-mean in your bed, n-next to me. I don't mind."

Sana's tired expression turned into a smirk as she teasingly ran her fingers through her hair, nodding slowly. Jihyo watched her crawl on the bed, embarrased and momenterarly regretting her decision when Sana laid her head on the pillow next to her own, winking before she closed her eyes.

"Goodnight, Jihyo~" 

"Good..night." the girl sighed. She knew this would be another restless night, especially when having a girl like Sana next to her. She was worried her heart would explode if Sana scooted any closer to her. Her scent was intoxicating and her skin looked so soft. But Jihyo didn't know why she was thinking all of this, why she thought her soft snores where cute. She didn't know why she was so happy Tzuyu had a boyfriend or why after being beaten by a group of gangsters she felt so beautiful and warm inside.

However, all of her worries faded away when Sana unintentionally cuddled into her in her sleep while mumbling nonsense. And for a second, Jihyo thought she could do this forever, cuddle with someone under the sheets in a rainy night. She thought she could cuddle with Sana forever.


	20. WATERFALL

The sun awoke and the first sunbeams hit against the windows of Momo's room where she stayed up all night, laying on the floor and looking at the figure on her small bed that barely fit her, yet seemed too big for the girl resting on it.

Her eyes were itchy and most likely red as she heard steps coming from her friend's room and to the kitchen where she and her girlfriend were probably making coffee to start their day.

However, Momo didn't move an inch. Her eyes remained glued on the girl and the way she squirmed in her sleep with her mouth slightly open, cuddling into the brunette's pillow. Her mind lingered on the events of last night and the amount of tears the younger shed and it annoyed her, not knowing why and how to help even though Dahyun wouldn't let her.

"Momo unnie?" a low and shaky voice sounded, making the brunette push herself off the floor and to her feet.

"Hm?" the girl hummed tiredly.

"Sorry."

"For what?" Momo asked as she blinked her eyes, moving a hand on her face and slightly slapping it in attempts of staying awake.

"For that," Dahyun murmured as she revealed the older's sheets that where covered in dirt from her shoes and blood, that Momo couldn't really understand where came from. "And that.." the girl spoke up again, pointing Momo who barely stood on her feet from exhaustion.

The brunette stayed there for a while looking at the younger before a panicked squeal spilled from her lips.

"You're bleeding." she said, finally registering the younger's state.

"I-It's fine." Dahyun tried to reassure Momo, who ran out of a room in a hurry as she mumbled something the girl couldn't understand.

Not long after the older came in the room, in her arms were a small bowl with water, a cloth, a few bandges and some towels. With a groan of frustration when some of the water spilled on her shirt, Momo placed the stuff on her night stand and sat on the edge of the bed, looking at the younger.

There was silence from both sides with Dahyun being embarassed about making a mess and Momo clueless of something to say or do to ease the girl's mind. Surely, whatever she had been through seemed serious if it lead to her blacking completetly out last night.

Momo abruptly sat up and moved to hover above Dahyun as she tried to grab the cloth and bowl only to have the latter flinch and curl up in a ball while later wincing in pain and streching out her legs. The brunette frowned and deeply exhaled, sitting back down and examining the girls frustrated look.

"I won't do anything," she spoke "Just take a look at your leg, alright?"

It took a while for the younger girl to nod and when she did she seemed uncertain. So Momo waited, knowing by the way the girl's legs shook that she would have to do that for a while, be paitient with and wait for her.

"May I?" Momo asked again after giving the girl a few moments and smiling sweetly at her. 

Softly and slowly, the older dipped the cloth in water and later cleaned around the girl's wound. She could sense Dahyun's frustration by the way her muscles tensed under her touch and she knew whatever Myungsoo did was traumatizing because the younger was never like this. Most of the time she would be the one asking for hugs or pats on the head when a day sucked, when she was emotionally tired and needed comfort.

"Here," Momo said "Can I patch it up? So it won't get infected."

Dahyun nodded again, keeping quiet as Momo took care of her leg that had been injured while falling from the tree house last night.

"Thank you."

"No need to thank me," the brunette tiredly smiled, slowly getting up and taking the supplies with her "Is there anything you need? Food, a shower?"

"Uh," Dahyun mumbled, not looking Momo in the eyes anymore "I'm fine, it's okay."

"If you want to shower, there is everything you need in the bottom drawer." the older said once more before exiting the room.

Momo stumbled, back hitting against the wall as she slided down. She was exhausted, furious, and confused. She hadn't slept all night, wanting to make sure Dahyun had everything she needed if she woke up. She was furious at the man who caused all of this, who caused the girl to deny all help Momo offered last night of cleaning her up, resulting in the younger never changing out of her soaked clothes. She was beyond mad, Momo had never felt such emotion ever. Not even when Mina left her so suddenly. And that's what confused her, that feeling. It was scary, but felt weirdly nice.

The loud sound of crying made Momo spring to her feet again, barging back into her room and finding the younger girl on the ground, head in her trembling hands and voice hitching every once in a while. Seeing such sight alone confirmed Momo's suspicions of something more than a bad date happening last night and judging from Dahyun's behaviour last night, all of this had happened before.

_It was around five in the morning, the rain had finally quieted down a little and Momo found herself on the floor intensely looking at the girl who cried in her sleep. The older had never experienced his, she didn't know what to do._

_"Please, please don't do this," the girl in her bed cried out, clutching the sheets "Please don't touch me."_

_Dahyun's cries only grew louder, her body quievered and a thin layer of sweat rested on her forehead as her brows furrowed and her mouth fell agape. It was more than a nightmare Momo realized, it was probably something she had experienced before. Something that haunted her and would continue to do if she didn't face, talk about _ _or_ _ seek help for it._

_In the span of few seconds, Momo was on her feet as she quietly made her way towards the girl and sat on the bed. She let her body lay down next to the younger, her eyes never leaving her distressed face. Without realizing Momo's hand traced circles on Dahyun's back, attempting to calm her down._

_Time froze when the younger reached to take hold of Momo's hand. The latter thought she would've pushed it away, cry louder or wake up, but Dahyun did nothing. The girl squezed Momo's hand so tight the older thought she wouldn't be able to feel it in a while. _

_"Help me," Dahyun mumbled, a tear running down her cheek "Please help me."_

_Momo squezed Dahyun's hand back, listening to her pleads. She couldn't do anything, she was uselessly laying next to a girl crying for help in her sleep. Crying and holding onto Momo like her life depended on it, and maybe that's what was happening. _

_Maybe her life was depending on her. Momo was the one who saved her from whatever happened. Because that's what it felt like, saving her. Saving her from the situation she was stuck in, saving her from Myungsoo. _

_And so the older waited some more, now rubbing the soft skin of Dahyun's hand with her thumb until the girl called down before leaving the bed and giving her some more space while thinking what could she do to help her. How would she persuade the younger to let her help. To figure out what had happened and support her while she got over it. _

_Because only Dahyun could do it, get over it. By herself and with the support from her loved ones, without depending on someone to pull her out of it. That was the only way she could possibly be okay again. _

"Dahyunie, what is wrong?" Momo lowly said as she hurried in the room, kneeling down beside the girl "All I want to do is help you."

Dahyun didn't reply, only let herself cry some more before turning to look at the older waiting by her side, hesitating to get closer.

And when the girl looked at Momo, the latter felt her whole world crumble down to pieces. The younger's eyes were bloodshot red and tears stained her face, clinging onto the skin and soaking it. They fell like waterfalls, never coming to and end.


	21. THAT DAY

Sobs echoed in Momo's room, bouncing on the walls and coming back louder. There was true sorrow behind Dahyun's cries, like a part of her was dying.

"Please let me help you," Momo spoke "Talk to me."

Dahyun's shoulders moved up and down, bringing her knees up to her face and hugging them. She let herself cry louder, letting everything she hasn't in years out. Momo on the other hand was determined to not let this go, to talk to her. She would do everything to take her pain away, to bring that bright smile back.

"I'm here," the older said, scooting just a little bit closer "Deep breaths in and out."

Momo didn't expect Dahyun to listen to her, but she did and in a few minutes the younger had stopped sobbing. The heartbreaking sound of her wailing was replaced with the one of sniffles as she still kept her head burried between her knees.

"Good job," Momo praised "Now, do you trust me?"

"O-Of course I do." Dahyun's shaky voice sounded muffled.

"Alright, then," the older slowly placed a hand on Dahyun's shoulder "Can you tell me what happened?" she lowly asked, waiting for her reaction on physicall contact to continue moving closer.

"H-He touched me." Dahyun said, her voice getting caught up in her throat.

"Myungsoo?" Momo questioned, balling the hand that wasn't on Dahyun's shoulder into a fist.

The younger nodded, breathing deeply through her nose and out of her mouth like Momo told her to do. In fact, the breathing helped her not to break down again. 

"Did you feel comfortable with it?" the brunette asked again, although the answer was pretty obvious.

"No, I-I didn't," Dahyun stuttered "He tried going for—" she stopped, a few whimpers spilling from her mouth.

"It's okay," Momo said, moving her hand on her back "You tried telling him to stop?"

"I did!" the younger exhaled frustrated "But he wouldn't, unnie. He wouldn't!" she raised her voice, hands gripping her hair as she fell into a fit of sobs once more.

The atmoshpere was heavy and Momo knew she had to take it easy on Dahyun. She was willing to spend all morning just trying to hear her talk about what happened, even if that meant worrying her roomate. Besides, it was Saturday. There weren't any classes.

"Alright, take your time," Momo calmly spoke, stroking the girl's back a few times "You tried to leave after he wouldn't stop?"

"Yeah, yeah I tried," the girl shook "He took me on a tree house for the date and I fell." she spoke and when she didn't panic at the hand caressing her back, Momo moved a little more towards her. 

  
"And then you ran," the brunette said, now kneeling in front of the girl "Right?"

"Yes unnie," Dahyun still had her head in between her knees and hands around them "He reminded me of _him_, of _that day_."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Momo's voice came out as a whisper, she felt worry built up in the pit of her stomach and slowly working it's way to the rest of her body "You know I'm always here no matter what."

The girl raised her head for a split second when Momo placed both of her hand's on the younger's shoulders, squeezing them tightly.

"It happened in the eighth grade," Dahyun said louder, taking Momo aback "He thought I was into him, his friends told him I was. When I tried stopping him he—"

_It was Friday, every student's favorite day. Classes had gone by incredibly fast for Dahyun, who sat at lunch with her two best friends, making plans about a sleepover in the weekend. The girl was almost free of everything for the weekend, Christmas break was just around the corner and the teachers pitied them, not assigning them too much homework._

_"What do you have next period, Dubu?" Chaeyoung asked, munching on the homemade sandwich Jihyo's mother had made for everyone. _

_"Rehearsals for the school band." the girl proudly said, smiling at her friends. _

_Dahyun knew how to play the piano and trumpet, immediately catching the music teacher's eye. He wanted her in the band and even offered her one of the best positions in it when he experienced her talent. _

_"How are the rehearsals going, by the way?" Jihyo asked, unwrapping another sandwich for Chaeyoung "I heard the Christmas show you guys are planning will be really big."_

_"Yeah, do you have any spoilers you can share?" Chaeyoung chuckled as she took the sandwich offered by the older._

_"No! There's no way I'm spoiling anything," Dahyun protested while arranging a few music sheets in her school bag "The only thing you get to know is that there is a new singer in the choir, the teacher's son."_

_"Jaegyu?" Chaeyoung gasped "He's like the boy every thirsty whore wants." she rolled her eyes._ _ Boys disgusted her._

_"Language, Chaeyoung-ah!" Jihyo scolded, sipping on her tea "Be careful, Dahyun. He's too full of himself and will try to hit on every girl."_

_"I know Hyo," Dahyun whined as she stood up, ready to leave "I'm not a baby."_

_Both of the girls waved to Dahyun as she walked over to the auditorium where she was supposed to meet the rest of the students for the rehearsal. Although she was too early to even meet anyone, she enjoyed the time alone while warming up or messing around on the piano. _

_However, today she wasn't alone. As she walked into the auditorium she saw a group of boys laughing and running out of it, leaving a tall, dark haired one alone to sit on the stage. _

_At first Dahyun said nothing, moving to place her school bag next to the piano. She cracked her knuckles before sitting down and pressing a few keys as if testing the sound. Taking a deep breath in, she closed her eyes ready to start playing the song that she had chosen to practice. _

_"Hi, Dahyun-ssi." a voice cut her off, resulting in her fingers to freeze a few inches above of the keys._

_"Hello, oppa." she said kind of awkwardly, she was talking to the school's most famous boy after all._

_"I've always wanted to hear you play," Jaegyu smiled "My friends talk about you a lot, actually."_

_"Ah, really?" Dahyun asked, keeping her eyes glued on the piano "That's so kind of them."_

_"Yeah," the boy smirked, leaning on the piano and reaching to hold Dahyun's chin between his thumb and index finger, making the girl face him "They've also been talking to me about some other stuff. Regarding you, of course."_

_"Like what?" the girl gulped, feeling uncomfortable as Jaegyu forced her face forward, leaving only an inch gap between his own._

_"Like how much you like me," he chuckled "But it's okay, I like you too. You're probably the only girl in this whole school worth banging or maybe that friend of yours, Jihyo, was that her name?"_

_Dahyun's heart dropped to her stomach, her eyes widened and mouth fell open at his words, giving him the opportunity to lean forward and capture her lips in a forced kiss._

_The girl squirmed through the kiss, annoying the boy, making him hold her shoulders and face as he continued kissing her and when she tried to scream, eased his tongue past her lips._

** _[_ ** ** _A/N: _ ** ** _NOT_ ** ** _ DESCRIPTIVE MENTIONS OF RAPE FOLLOWING: PLEASE SKIP IF YOU'RE SENSITIVE]_ **

_When Jaegyu pulled away, Dahyun was already tearing up, making him scoff and laugh a little when she demanded to let her go and stop touching her. However, the boy didn't listen. His hands moved from her shoulders to her blouse, unbuttoning it and skimming his hands all over her chest until she tried to kick him away._

_"Hey!" the boy hissed "Don't deny something you want so much."_

_"I d-don't want it!" Dahyun squeaked when he threw her blouse to the floor, diving his head to kiss over the skin on her chest._

_As time passed, the girls whimpers and cries grew louder and the attempts of pushing Jaegyu's head away almost succeeded. But he was way stronger and later forced the girl on the floor before taking his shirt off and running to lock the door. Besides, there was quite a few time before the bell for class went off. _

_"Stop this!" Dahyun shouted when he hovered over her body, teasingly flexing his muscles while removing the rest of the girl's clothing._

_To_ _Dahyun's disappointment, the big room was soundproof. No sound she ever made would surpass the walls and save her from the boy that used her body, that tried making her his inside the school. And she knew she wouldn't forget that day, or the physical and mental pain she went through. Especially when his careless and disgusting self didn't follow the basic rules of sexual contact and not respecting her wishes of being let go, not being used as a sex toy. When he had finished and was satisfied with destroying her body, she left the girl on the floor trembling for a while before urging her to move._

_It was pathetic to say the least, the way Dahyun attempted to stand up but failed, falling on the floor as her body gave up on her. She wasn't used to anything like this and she was sure she didn't want to experience it ever again. _

_"Move!" Jaegyu shouted to the girl who laid on the floor, unable to move her sore body as he pulled his pants up "You're such a fucking slut, get up! We're going to get caught."_

_Dahyun didn't listen, only felt her skin burning and her stomach twisting in the _ _most_ _ ugly _ _way_ _. She felt sick, _ _like_ _ she didn't own her _ _body_ _. And honestly, she didn't. She didn't want to. Not after this. _

_And _ _when_ _ she rushed home, she could feel the world shutting down. The walls of it trapping her inside, inside of something _ _like_ _ a box. Somewhere where she couldn't escape from. Especially when after a month or so she had to end an innocent life. A life that didn't deserve to be gone, but couldn't stay in the cruel world either._

_That's when Dahyun realized she was the only person that didn't enjoy Fridays ever again. Or at least, until she worked to get over it._

"The guy, he-you..I don't understand." Momo couldn't wrap her head around it.

"I got pregnant," Dahyun mumbled "And I ended it." her voice was low and shaky, but she wasn't crying anymore.

"D-Dahyun," the brunette didn't know what to say. It amazed her how she could get over something like that "I'm sorry."

"I was getting over it, I was so close," Dahyun bitterly chuckled "After years of therapy, I finally realized it wasn't my fault only to have him come and remind me that it indeed was."

"Dahyunie, it wasn't," Momo said "Look at me, it wasn't your fault!" she almost shouted, moving her hands over the girl's head and bringing her body close.

"Then why did it almost happen again, unnie?" Dahyun asked, finally facing the girl in front of her "Is it something I do?"

"No, no!" Momo's head was spinning as she cupped the girl's face and looked into her eyes "You're doing nothing. They're just sick." was all she could say to which Dahyun nodded.

"I can't do this, Momo unnie," the girl confessed "I'm sorry for not listening to you."

"Yes you can," Momo quickly replied and caressed the girl's face "Don't even think of apologizing to me ever again. I want to help you, we will do this all over again and if it's necessary I will pay the doctors."

"It's okay. You don't need to do that."

"Promise me you will fight it," Momo felt herself tearing up "And I will help you. Your friends will do. Heck, I'll even make my mom cook Japanese food for you. We'll all be there. Just promise me you will try."

The girl hesitated for a while before nodding again and launching her body forward, hugging Momo and letting her tears stain her shirt while the older squished her in her embrace, mumbling words of encouragement over and over again.

"I promise unnie," Dahyun said in a shaky voice "I promise I won't let this destroy me once again."


	22. TEA O'CLOCK

The smell of freshly made pancakes and what seemed to be green tea woke Jihyo up from her sleep, who streched on Sana's bed and slowly opened her eyes.

"It's tea o' clock, miss Jihyo!" Sana smiled, walking into the room with a tray full of food and tea "Get up~"

Jihyo wasn't used to waking up on Sana's bed for the second time in one day. She was extremely thankful to her for saving her and cuddling with her when she couldn't really sleep.

"Thank you," Jihyo mumbled as she took the tray the girl offered "For everything."

"It's nothing, I owed you one either way." Sana said, moving to the closet to take some clothes.

Jihyo didn't really know what to think. Last night was a nightmare. She had found out her once really close friend was addicted to drugs with the worst day. And she didn't blame him for what happened to her. She could never do that. It was a bad moment, Jihyo said to herself. There was no way she would stay mad at Seongjuu for that.

"What are you thinking?" Sana asked, now sitting on the edge of the bed "Are you in pain? Or was the tea bad? I'm sorry, I didn't know how you like it." she rambled, pouting adorably.

"It's not that," Jihyo laughed maybe too loudly and hard, wincing in pain and clutching her sides after "I was just thinking about Seongjuu. He must've been really hurt."

"You're not mad at him?" Sana asked, watching as Jihyo shook her head "I guess he could've have never predicted what happened."

"But that doesn't mean he's not in danger all the time," the girl spoke "Addiction, especially in drugs, can cost you more than bad side effects or fights.." Jihyo trailed off, leaving the wooden—and almost empty by now—tray to the side.

"It can cost you your life," Sana continued while looking into Jihyo's eyes "Sometimes I hate myself for not making him stop harming himself."

At that, Jihyo stood up and walked over to Sana. She hovered above her, examining the way she fiddled with her fingers in her lap and her head that hang low as her hair hid her face.

"I'm sorry for ruining your mood," Jihyo breathed out as she kneeled down "But you got to know that it's not your fault."

"Yeah, but aren't lovers supposed to help each other out?" Sana questioned, keeping her head low.

"Some things we have to deal on our own," the girl said "Your efforts were enough, it is him that made the decision not to listen to you. We can't always persuade everyone."

"I guess you're right," Sana said "Though I still feel like he hates me for leaving. Even if we both agreed to breaking up. I feel like he thinks I left him because of his addiction."

"It's nothing like that," Jihyo smiled "You guys were meant to be friends. I'm sure you both believe that. At least he does."

"He does?"

"Yes, Sana," the shorter said, placing a hand under Sana's chin "He would never blame you. You did nothing wrong."

"Ugh, I hate this!" Sana whined, encircling her hands around Jihyo's waist "You're the one that got hurt but still comforting me."

Jihyo said nothing though, just held her breath as Sana's hands pulled her closer, resulting in both to fall on the bed. Sana with her back on the mattress while Jihyo almost on top of her, awkwardly biting her lip and smiling.

"I wanted to give you your scarf, by the way." Sana smiled, raising her body just a little so she could face Jihyo. With a giggle, she softly caressed the bruise under Jihyo's eye and later let her hand rest on the girl's cheek, looking into her eyes.

"I said you can keep it," the girl's eyes widened as Sana's face kept moving closer "It's yours n-now." she gulped when the blonde's lips grazed against her own.

"Sana, I'm heading to the—" Tzuyu said, walking into the room "—Store."

Sana chuckled and pulled away, smiling at Tzuyu who hesitantly stood by the door. Rolling off the bed, she ran to the taller's direction and hugged her, standing on her tiptoes to whisper something in her ear.

"You're dead once she leaves," she whispered "Remind me to walk in on you with Hajoon the next time you're going at it." Sana smirked and pinched Tzuyu's arm, almost pushing her out of her room.


	23. RIGHTS

**momo**

class is about to   
start soon. where r u?  
  
**dahyun**  
Talking to professor Ahn,  
not coming in today  
  
**momo**  
did myungsoo try   
anything?  
  
**dahyun**

No, I let professor Ahn know   
what happened and he is looking  
into it. He will get him kicked out  
of the class after the second part  
of our assignment I guess.  
  
**momo**  
don't tell me you're going  
you're not going right?  
  
**dahyun**  
I'm not going.  
I have blocked his number   
and will never talk to him again.  
Hopefully he will learn from his  
mistake, getting kicked out of   
class, and a bad report on his file.   
  
**momo**  
that's the spirit!!  
have an idea though  
meet me in the cafeteria   
in bit?  
i'll text u  
  
**dahyun**  
Yes, sure.  
  
**momo**  
great thanks b  
see ya  
  
**dahyun**  
See you :)

Momo grinned, watching as students entered the class and took their seats.

"Hey Momo," Chaeyoung waved while walking over with Jihyo by her side who politely greeted her "Dahyun's not joining us today."

"Yeah she told me a while ago," the girl replied "How are you, Jihyo? I was pretty worried about you."

"A little sore still but fine," Jihyo replied "I don't think I thanked you enough for helping Dahyun out, everything that happened must've been a lot for you."

"Actually, you thanked me too much," the brunette laughed "I care about Dahyun. I will always help her out whenever she needs it."

"You're a pro, unnie," Chaeyoung spoke up "I'm sorry I didn't tag along, I was—"

"Pretty busy, yeah." Jihyo groaned, feeling Mina's eyes burning holes on Chaeyoung's back.

"It's okay, Chaeyoung-ah. At least you're all safe," Momo replied "Maybe this terrible incident is the start of a new friendship."

"Totally!" both girls spoke, wondering what could have really happened between the older and Mina. Especially Chaeyoung, she didn't want to cause any problems in her relationship with Mina. The girls have been really close and hanging out more than often lately and the younger enjoyed it, she didn't want it to end because of a friendship that had started developing between her roommates and Momo.

"I see Sana took good care of you, Jihyo-ssi." Momo spoke after some small talk between the three, motioning at the bruise on her face that had started to get less intense.

"I guess she did." Jihyo breathed out, smiling when catching Sana staring. A light shade of red creeped on her cheeks when the girl looked away panicked.

"Nice talking to you," Chaeyoung said as the professor walked into the classroom "Let's go out for drinks some time."

Jihyo and Chaeyoung hurried to their desk two tables away from the brunette, who glared at Myungsoo coming in last, his head hanging low. Momo laughed a bit, the professor must've talked to him and given him what he really deserved.

Four tables away from Momo's, Mina was quietly sitting and watching the girls' interaction with Momo. Mina couldn't help but to let herself take a peek at the older girl every a few times throughout the lesson, the annoying feeling of guilt building up inside her chest.

"Good morning class," professor Ahn spoke "Today we will be reviewing your last assignment as well as explaining what the second part will be."

The class buzzed with the voices of students talking, taking turns in reviewing each other and sharing the best part of their date. Although, one didn't talk. Myungsoo was quiet the whole time, never looking anyone in the eyes as he fiddled with his pencil. Momo couldn't tell if the reason behind Myungsoo's behavior was because he was feeling bad or because he was mad at Dahyun for giving him in, resulting in the professor to take action and report his behavior to the principal.

"I want to get the fuck out of here." the boy suddenly hissed, taking professor Ahn aback.

With that statement, Momo concluded on the second option. Which made sense, Myungsoo was a piece of shit. He didn't care about anyone other than his self, he was a brat. Rich enough to think he owns the ground he's walking on.

Though in this university, Lee Myungsoo meant shit. The man who owned the place wasn't even the principal, it was professor Ahn. Not because he was entitled or strong enough to be bossing around. Professor Ahn was reliable, he earned the respect everyone had for him through his hard work and it was clear he would never tolerate anyone like Myungsoo.

"Mister Lee, I thought I told you not to speak a word in this entire session." professor Ahn said making the whole class gasp.

"I can do whatever I want, it's my right to talk."

"Would you still be talking if there where sexual assault papers filled against you on my desk at this very moment?" Ahn spoke "When violating the only rule in this class—respect—you have no rights."

Professor Ahn had a point, Momo thought. She would love to stand up in front of the class and call him out for everything he did to Dahyun. She would so love to watch the whole campus attack him and give him a lesson. But she didn't. Momo was in no need of drama and people being in Dahyun's business when she tried piecing herself back together. The only thing that mattered was her being okay, Dahyun being comfortable and getting past this whole traumatic experience for good.

"So, no, I do not give you the permission to talk nor will interrupt class to hear you do so," the professor said "Whatever it is you want to talk about, you can say it in my office with the principal present."

With that, Myungsoo broke his pencil and sat down, defeated as he pulled up his mask. He hated the way all of the students would glare at him, some laughingーlike Momoーand some fuming in anger ーlike Jihyoーthe possibility of Dahyun filling papers against him annoying him more.

"Now that mister Lee is over being dramatic," Ahn started again, resulting in the whole class to burst out in laughter "Let's continue with the second part of the assignement."

Momo tapped her fingers over her notebook, awaiting the time to get out of class and share her plan with Dahyun who had decided not to come to class until Myungsoo left.

"Second part of your assignement is being honest, truthful," the professor spoke as he eyed the whole class, his gaze lingering o Mina a few moments later "Reflecting and knowing yourself is key for a successful relationship. Hence, you will have to share three thing you like about your partner and one you dislike." Ahn announced.

And with that, Momo's plan got even better as she spammed Dahyun's phone and hurried out of class the moment the professor let them go.

"Hey, Jihyo.." a low voice sounded as the girl sat up, placing her books and phone in her bag and grabbing her water bottle.

"Sana, hi!" Jihyo smiled, furrowing her eyebrows when realizing Chaeyoung had already walked out of class.

"What's up?" the blonde asked when examining the girl's facial expression.

"Nothing, Chae just walked away," Jihyo shrugged "I thought we were walking back to the dorm together."

"I can walk with you!" Sana offered, showing her best smiled to the girl.

"Sana you live in the other side of campus."

"But I really want to," Sana whined "Please, Jihyo."

Truth is, Jihyo couldn't really say no to the girl. Not only because of the way her bottom lip stuck out and eyebrows arched when she pouted, whining like a five year old that had accidentally broken it's favorite toy, or because of the pleading hand that tugged on the hem of her t-shirt. It was more like because she really wanted to be with Sana. The blonde made her feel happy, push all the weird mess in her head away for a while before she had to deal with it over a cup of tea at four in the morning.

Jihyo didn't exactly know what she wanted Sana to be, seeing as the latter had tried to kiss her. The girl always assumed she was straight, she never bothered thinking about it. She liked boys, throughout her whole life. So she had to be straight. And it's not like she liked Sana more than a friend, it was a weird feeling Jihyo couldn't really understand.

"Okay, whatever." the girl groaned, being dragged away by a squealing Sana.

In no time, the girls were walking on the path to Jihyo's dorm talking about everything. It was different, Jihyo thought, from whatever she had with her best friends. She could tell Sana anything that's been worrying her without being afraid of affecting her emotionally, like she did with Dahyun and Chaeyoung most of the time.

No, Jihyo didn't keep stuff from the girls. Just told them after she has brainstormed about her worries and had already figured them out. Besides, the girls had their own problems too. They were all too busy.

"So are you doing the second part of the assignement?" Sana suddenly asked "I mean with Seongjuu."

"Yeah, I don't see why not." the girl replied, letting out a breath.

There was really no reason for Jihyo to be mad at the boy. Besides, she wanted to help him.

"Are you sure?"

"Very," Jihyo spoke "I want to talk to him, let him know that drugs is not a way of forgetting your problems."

"I tried that too, though," Sana replied as she walked next to Jihyo, looking at the side of her face while the girl casually eyed the bright sun "I don't really know how's that going to help."

"I got my own ways, I guess," Jihyo smiled "If he doesn't want to listen then it's his problem. Only talking to him about making a change will have to do, we can't force him."

"You're right, always freaking right," the blonde whined, slowing down her walking. Jihyo's dorm was just a few steps away and she didn't want to leave just yet "But promise me you'll be in a more public place this time."

"Don't worry," Jihyo chuckled "Besides, it's my turn to show him my favorite place. And I swear it's pretty public."

"What is it?"

"The cafeteria."

"Why?" Sana asked, watching Jihyo unlocking the door to her dorm.

"Hmm," the girl tapped her chin with her index finger, leaning over the frame of the door "This is a story for another time."

"Why you gotta be like that?" Sana pouted again.

"Have a good day, Sana." Jihyo smiled, getting in her dorm and closing the door behind her.


	24. STRAIGHT

"Thank you for not pushing me away." Seongjuu said as he slowly walked beside Jihyo.

The pair was on their way to the campus' cafeteria—apparently Jihyo's favorite place—so they could complete the second and final part of their assignment.

"Why would I do that?" Jihyo asked, eyeing the liveliness of the cafeteria "It was not your fault."

The cafeteria was always busy, it was where almost every student would hang out at. There was food, internet connection, and it was spacious. The perfect place.

"It was," Seongjuu fiddled with the ends of his jacket while the girl pushed open the door and led him to the table they where supposed to sit at "I didn't pay and—"

"Hey, it's okay," Jihyo smiled to the boy "We're here to relax, spend some time together. Besides, I had fun the last time."

"Sorry, it's just that I feel guilty," he sighed "So, why is this your favorite place? Any memorable stories you'd like to share?"

"Honestly, this place became my favorite out of nowhere," Jihyo said with a smile on her face "I usually don't like getting out of my dorm, something that you already know, but after being brought here by someone it just happened. Our bond is weird. I don't know, but the place feels different when they are around."

"I see," Seongjuu chuckled "I'm pretty sure she feels the same way."

"Excuse me?"

"Sana," the boy said "She'd bring me here too."

"I—What?" Jihyo asked, mouth agape.

"When you were unconscious we talked about us, you guys' friendships, and I got to know a lot of stuff."

"I'm really not getting whatever you're talking about." the girl said, tapping her foot on the floor.

"Look," Seongjuu breathed out "The whole incident I caused taught me a lot. I got to see how Sana truly felt everytime I was in danger. I got to listen to the thoughts she had when worrying for someone she cares so much about. And it put me into deep thought, about everything I've been putting myself through by doing drugs. Experiencing what goes through her mind taught me a lesson."

Jihyo's mouth was still agape, both feet tapping on the floor harder and her brows furrowed, following everything the boy sitting across of her said.

"She told me about her sister, how much she was hurt whenever she did something similar to herself," Seongjuu said "It was the first time she had ever spoken about it to anyone and she begged me to stop hurting myself again. She begged me harder than she had ever done when we were together. All of this because one of the people she had put on a goal to always protect was hurt by my actions."

The girl's heart felt heavy, she didn't know Sana had ever been through something similar with family members. Seongjuu's words only made her realize the bond she had with that girl was not weird at all. It was completely normal.

"That person was you Jihyo-ssi," the boy smiled "Sana cares about you."

"She does?"

"Yeah, I should've probably talked to you sooner," he spoke "A relationship can only succed if both parties are truthful. Remember? That's what professor Ahn said."

And in a heartbeat, Jihyo was bowing to Seongjuu and leaving the cafeteria. At first she didn't really know where she was going, her feet were dragging her on their own.

The sun had already been replaced by the bright moon as Jihyo walked over to the unfamiliar side of the campus, the one she had never been to alone. And what surprised her was that she could navigate easily and confidently knock on the girl's door without even hesitating.

"Jihyo, h-hi," Sana's voice brought her back to reality, causing her anxiety to rise through the roof "What brings you here?'

The blonde was in simple attire, sporting a pair of grey sweatpants and a black hoodie while her damp hair loosely fell on her shoulder's. On her one hand was a wooden spoon while on the other a book that she later put away after inviting the girl in.

"Sorry for the mess, I'm cooking since Tzu is out with her boyfriend." Sana spoke, turning her back on Jihyo for a while to check on the food she was making.

This gave the time to Jihyo to make up her mind and reassure herself that whatever move she was about to make was what would finally clear her mind, help her realize the confusing feeling in her heart and stomach.

Taking a step back from Sana and grabbing the single glass of wine that was set on the counter, she downed it in one go as the words of the professor replayed in her head.

_"Second part of your assignement is being honest, truthful. Reflecting and knowing yourself is key for a successful relationship. Hence, you will have to share three thing you like about your partner and one you dislike." Ahn announced. _

"Jihyo what are you do—"

"I like how happy you always are, the fact that even if you're hurting you will help the one you care about first before yourself. I also like when you have your hair down, it's suits you very much," Jihyo said in one breath, facing Sana who had already taken a few steps closer to the girl "Though I dislike this, I hate how you make me confused all the time."

"Confused about what?" Sana asked, leaving the cooking behind and standing in front of Jihyo while the latter's body was pressed against the counter, her eyes shaking.

"About me, about my dysfunctional heart," Jihyo whispered "You confuse me, Sana!"

The blonde laughed, dropping the wooden spoon to the floor and bringing her face a breath away from Jihyo's, just like the day after the incident.

"Will this help your confusion?" Sana asked, closing her eyes and enveloping Jihyo into a kiss.

The kiss was gentle, soft and before Sana could even realize Jihyo had pushed her away by the shoulders, panicking with her lips trembling.

"Wait," the girl panted "I'm s-straight."

"Clearly you aren't," Sana giggled, cupping the girl's face "Not for me at least." she teased before kissing the girl again, this time a little rougher.

The moment between the girls was so random, pure, yet enjoyed by both sides. Jihyo had finally let herself experience something different from what she was used to, discovering where all those surreal emotions came from and for who they've have been developing for, for a while now. While Sana simply enjoyed the moment, the moment she had dreamed about more than once, but never liked to admit.

And so the girls kissed, disregarding the fact that humans need oxygen to actually be able to live. Both of the had gotten a little bolder, Sana brushing the skin on Jihyo's stomach with the pads of her fingers and tracing her abs under her shirt while Jihyo softly sucked on Sana's bottom lip, the one that always stuck out whenever the blonde was pouting.

"Wait, Sana." the girl breathed out, pushing the girl away again.

"What is it?" Sana groaned, catching her breath.

"The food."

"Aw shit!" the blonde squealed, running to turn off the stove and throw away the burned food before hurrying back to Jihyo.

The girls exchanged glances, both blushing and equally out of breath. But it wasn't awkward, not when Sana leaned in again leaving Jihyo gasp and hold onto her hips, feeling her knees giving out as Sana slipped her hand under Jihyo's shirt again.

"You're buff." Sana mumbled against Jihyo's lips, smilling when the latter slapped her thigh slightly.

Jihyo wasn't surprised to find out that Sana was the type of person to smile in the kiss. The blonde smiled so big their lips almost lost contact, but she knew better. Sana kept Jihyo close and thanked Tzuyu for finally getting her boyfriend outside of the dorm.

The sound of Jihyo's phone vibrating inside the pocket of her jeans made her pull away from the kiss, earnings a very loud but cute whine from Sana. Whose lips were already swollen and hand still trailing on the skin of Jihyo's stomach.

"It's Dahyun." the girl spoke, finally realizing what had gone down and blushing harder.

**dahyun**  
Unnie, Momo and I  
will be going out for  
dinner to celebrate.  
Chae will come along too  
You should come!  
  
**jihyo**  
Celebrate what exactly?  
  
**dahyun**  
You'll see  
Just come to the address  
I'll send you.

"Ooh Dahyunie~" Sana sang out, resting her head on Jihyo's shoulder "What's up?"

"Dahyunie?" Jihyo laughed "She is inviting me to go to dinner with her, Momo, and Chae."

"Yes Dahyunie, that's what I'll be calling her. She's so cute I want to pinch her cheeks." the blonde squealed, leaving a soft kiss on Jihyo's exposed collar bone.

"Go." Jihyo smiled as she pushed Sana away.

"Where?"

"To get ready, hurry!" the girl said, waving the girl who tried to kiss her yet again off.

"Why?" Sana asked, finally taking her hand from under Jihyo's shirt when being pushed away.

"You're coming with me," Jihyo said "I kinda burned your food. It's my treat."


	25. NERVES

"Sana, walk please." Jihyo groaned, dragging the girl to the meeting place Dahyun had set for them to meet for their dinner date.

The girls didn't really talk about what happened at Sana's place, just shyly glanced at each other once in a while. It was clear none of them regretted it, so they just kept quiet.

Well, not really.

"Jihyo-ah~" Sana loudly whined, tugging at the sleeve of the girl's jacket while stopping in her tracks.

"What?" Jihyo breathed. Sana had been whining for no absolute reason from the moment the pair stepped out of the blonde's dorm "Can you please stop getting on my nerves?"

"I'm not." Sana giggled, taking her time to look at Jihyo.

Even with the bruises on her face, the girl still looked breathtaking beautiful. The half faded purple marks added a little bit of a mystery behind the girl's activities, for people who didn't know her at least, and Sana couldn't really lie about them being attractive to her.

"You're wrong," Jihyo said "Let's just get to the place Dahyun said we'd meet. We've been walking for too long now."

They were walking for a long time indeed. The place was supposed to be half an hour away by foot, but with Sana's whining, an hour had already gone by. It was almost nearing the time the girls had agreed on meeting up and the pair had only walked half the distance.

"But, Jihyo.." the blonde whined again, earning a frustrated cry for help by the girl and intertwining their hands.

"What is it?" Jihyo almost shouted, she usually never lost her temper but Sana was annoying her. "What do you want from me?!"

The blonde didn't say anything and only leaned forward, pecking the girl's lips and then running away, giggling loudly.

"Come on, we're going to be late." Sana shouted as she ran, leaving a blushing Jihyo behind.

The brunette was frozen in place, feeling her lips burning and attempting to force herself out of whatever dream she was stuck in. And when she did, she had to run. Sana had already taken off and was quite far, laughing to herself and occasionally checking back to see where Jihyo was.

A little over twenty minutes later the girls were close to the meeting place, however Sana was too tired to keep running. Breathing heavily, she casually sat down as she waited for Jihyo to catch up.

"What are you doing?!" Jihyo asked when she saw Sana resting her head on her knees while softly humming to something as she sat on the pavement.

"Waiting for you," the blonde softly replied, not moving an inch "I'm kinda tired."

"Here," Jihyo sighed, stretching out her arms to help Sana up "We're almost there."

"Thanks." Sana smiled while standing on her feet. Everything was suddenly awkward.

The pair stood in silence, catching their breaths and letting the soft summer wind dry out their sweat.

"Shall we?" the blonde smiled after a while, motioning for Jihyo to move closer.

"We shall." Jihyo teased, impulsively taking a hold of Sana's hand and squeezing it.

And with a warm smile, the awkwardness faded away. The girls walked in complete silence, their bodies closer this time as they quickly made their way to meet their friends, knowing they were already late.


End file.
